Here is the third and final part of my liner notes to PolyGram's never-released 10cc collection, The Things We Do for Love-The Singles Collection. Slated for release in the spring of 1995, it was shelved when PolyGram's licensing deal with UK Records owner Jonathan King (whose label released 10cc's early singles) fell through. Part One of the notes appeared in the February issue, and Part Two in the April issue. I would like to thank Fufkin editor/publisher Casey Fundaro for giving me the opportunity to share these notes, which contain never-before-published interviews with all four group members, with 10cc fans around the world.

Looking at these notes nearly eight years later, I was amused to see that I credited my then-psychiatrist, a tongue-in-cheek attempt to emulate Brian Wilson's thank-you's on Love and Mercy (though I think he beat me there by crediting around four doctors). I remember during that time, towards the end of the CD reissue boom, when I used to do sugar-and-caffeine-fueled all-nighters to satisfy the liner-note demand, I also fantasized about including Diet Pepsi and Entenmann's baked goods in my thank-you's. Thankfully, I didn't.

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In the fall of 1975, 10cc released "Art For Art's Sake," the first single from their upcoming album, How Dare You! It was inspired by one of Gouldman's father's sayings: "Art for art's sake, money for God's sake." While it kept up 10cc's hit streak in England, in America it stalled at #83. The album appeared early the following year, along with a new single, the sparkling "I'm Mandy Fly Me." Again, a low U.S. chart placing-#60-but sharp English ears sent it into that country's Top Ten.

Ironically, the song which represented the peak of 10cc's collaborative efforts would be their last with their original lineup. In October 1976, Godley and Creme left, putting an end to longstanding artistic tensions within the group.

While Godley and Creme reached new heights as solo artists and, later, video directors, Stewart and Gouldman kept 10cc alive. They added a drummer, Paul Burgess, and quickly brought forth a new single, the supremely infectious "The Things We Do For Love." "That song was originally supposed to be a very sleazy blues number," Stewart says, "but it sounded too sad. Then, when Graham and I went in to record Deceptive Bends, we were feeling quite free, exhilarated by the fact that what was tying us down over the last 10cc album-this tension that we were getting into with Kev and Lol-was not there anymore. I sat down and started trying to play 'The Things We Do For Love' uptempo, and we just hooked into it."

The second single from Deceptive Bends was "Good Morning Judge," its title inspired by the punchline to a joke. While that song hit the UK Top 5, the immediate U.S. follow-up to "The Things We Do For Love" was the uncharacteristically plaintive "People In Love," which edged up to #40. 10cc rounded out 1977 with their first live album, Live And Let Live, which introduced the new, six-member lineup, with Tony O'Malley (later replaced by Duncan MacKay), Stuart Tosh, and Rick Fenn.

In the fall of 1978, 10cc released its first new single in a year, "Dreadlock Holiday." As Dave Thompson later admitted in Record Collector, the reggae-styled number was "infuriatingly catchy." The first 10cc hit to feature Graham Gouldman's lead vocals, the song was based on something that happened to Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward while he was holidaying in Barbados. It hit #1 in England and stopped just short of the American Top 40.

While Gouldman understandably loves "Dreadlock Holiday," he has some regrets. "We got a lot of flak from people who thought that it was stereotyping black people. But actually the whole idea was to take the piss out of white people, trying to emulate black 'cool.'"

Making the liner note writer's job easier, Gouldman adds with regard to "Dreadlock Holiday," "Our last major hit, by the way."

The ensuing album, Bloody Tourists, included the group's follow-up single, the suitelike "Reds In My Bed." Perhaps "Reds In My Bed" was too subtle for Top Forty listeners, but it stands today as one of the 10cc's most creative efforts. The group's next single, "For You And I," was a more commercial song, but was not helped by its inclusion in the flop John Travolta/Lily Tomlin film Moment By Moment.

In early 1979, Eric Stewart was in a serious car accident, suffering multiple injuries which sidelined him for most of the year. The first single the group made upon his return, the disco parody "1-2-5," recalled the old 10cc wit, but failed to register significant sales.

After "1-2-5" came a number of singles, none of them hits, which for the most part lacked the certain something that made 10cc's earlier records such classics. Asked about 10cc's early-'80s output, Stewart comments, "As you'll see from the credits of the albums, I had been the engineer for the band, and I mixed everything we did, up until my car accident. After that, I wasn't confident enough to rely on my ears. I had lost some top frequencies in my left ear. That's the point when we started to allow other people to engineer and, well, the rest is history. We didn't do another hit record.

"Also, at that time," he adds, "The New Romantics like Duran Duran were coming in, and people were asking us to do that sort of thing, and the engineers were involved in bringing those sounds out. The marriage of those two ideas was pretty bad. In retrospect, we should have continued to follow the 10cc vein, instead of bringing in external producers. That was the kiss of death for us."

One benefit of the '80s singles was that they brought Gouldman into collaboration with singer/songwriter Andrew Gold. When 10cc folded in 1983, Gouldman and Gold formed the duo Wax, which had hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Stewart was also active, most notably as a player, producer, and co-writer on three Paul McCartney albums.

In 1991, Stewart and Gouldman got back together to make the first 10cc album of the decade, Meanwhile. The album was not released in the States, but was a smash in Japan, where 10cc has never gone out of style. Two singles from it, "Woman In Love" and "Welcome To Paradise," make their American debut here. Also appearing in the U.S. for the first time is the bonus live cut "Across The Universe," from the group's 1993 Japanese tour.

As of this writing [1994], Stewart and Gouldman are making a new album that has them more excited than they've been in years. To hear them tell it, the album will, like recent efforts by other major acts, have a more natural feel than the records of the synth-soaked '80s. Stewart, who is borrowing his son's Stratocaster for the recording sessions, says, "We're using original rock and roll instruments, like a Hammond organ and a Fender Rhodes electric piano. It's just going back to what I know we're good at."

Godley and Creme split in 1989, with Creme remaining active in music and directing videos, most recently for Tom Jones. Creme's son, Lalo, can be heard playing guitar on the new Tom Jones album; like Gouldman and Stewart's progeny, he carries on the musical tradition. Godley devotes most of his time to environmental pursuits such as his not-for-profit organization ARK, but occasionally takes off to direct videos like U2's "Zoo-TV" special. "I look back on my 10cc period with a great deal of affection," he says. "I just wish we looked better!"

Dawn Eden
November, 1994

Thanks: Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Harvey Lisberg, Chris Breetveld, and Dr. Andrew E. Slaby.

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