A: Hi Jeff-

Thanks for your question: “Whatever happened to the group 10cc? I really enjoyed their music when I was younger. Thanks!”

10cc was a band from Manchester, England which included vocalist/guitarist Graham Gouldman, singer/guitarist Eric Stewart, vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Kevin Godley and Lol Crème.

Gouldman was a former member of the Mockingbirds and the author of hits for the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Jeff Beck, Stewart was an alum of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders and Godley and Crème were both highly regarded studio players.

10cc started out as a session unit called Hotlegs. They had a hit UK single entitled "Neanderthal Man."

They were then signed to Jonathan King’s UK label and changed their name to 10cc. The band actually backed Neil Sedaka before releasing their first hit “Donna” in 1972. “Donna” was a bit of a throw back to the fifties doo wop style and would be the start of their inclination to give a nod to music styles gone by.

In 1973 they had another hit with “Rubber Bullets” and again with the single “The Dean and I” before releasing an eponymously titled debut LP.

10cc finally managed to break through on the American charts in 1975 with “I’m Not In Love” which reached number 2.

In 1976, Godley and Crème left the group to pursue video production as well as development of the Gizmo, a guitar modification device the pair invented. In 1977, they released their own debut album Consequences. It was ripped to shreds by the critics for being much too long and horribly pretentious. They did manage a small comeback in the UK in 1981 with “Under My Thumb”, but it was their 1985 hit “Cry” that they are probably best known for. The duo focused mainly on video production, working with artists such as The Police, Duran Duran and Frankie Goes to Hollywood on ground breaking videos. Their own video for “Cry”, where people’s faces morphed into one another was a giant leap in videos of the time. In 1990, Crème tried his hand at music again by joining The Art of Noise.


Gouldman and Stewart carried on with Godley and Crème and recorded 1977's Deceptive Bends with the aid of session musicians. Deceptive Bends included the hit "The Things We Do for Love."

10cc released Bloody Tourists in 1978, now with guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboardist Tony O'Malley and drummer Stuart Tosh. The group disbanded in 1983 after a series of unsuccessful releases, including 1980's Look Hear?, 1981's 10 Out of 10 and 1983's Window in the Jungle.

After the breakup, Stewart produced Sad Cafe and worked with Paul McCartney; Gouldman worked with the Ramones and Gilbert O'Sullivan before forming the duo Wax with Andrew Gold.

In 1992, the original lineup of 10cc reunited for the LP Meanwhile. The 1993 recording, Mirror Mirror only included original band mates Gouldman and Stewart.


In May 2004, 10cc was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.

Also in 2004, Eric Stewart released the album Do Not Bend 2nd Edition. For more information about this release, you can visit http://www.ericstewart.uk.com

The band has an official fanzine and an official website. You can visit them at the links below.

http://welcome.to/10cc

http://www.the10ccfanclub.com