Rock
10CC
This month Martin Cooper checks out Eric Stewart and Lol Crème, whose distinctive styles helped give this UK band its unique sound.
VIDEO & AUDIO https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c
ABILITY RATING
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Easy/Moderate
Info
Key: D Major
Tempo: 120 bpm https://bit.ly/4ekuh7c
Will improve your
✓ Use of two-note chords
✓ Playing ‘for the song’
✓ Part writing
10cc were formed in Stockport, UK in 1972 by drummer Kevin Godley, guitarist and keyboard player Lol Crème, guitarist Eric Stewart, and bass player Graham Gouldman. Each of the band members sang, wrote music and was a multi-instrumentalist. The albums were mostly recorded at their Strawberry Studios, with Stewart functioning as main engineer. Godley and Crème were often seen as the more experimental side of the group, with Stewart and Gouldman the more pop focused writers (Gouldman had written hits for The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits and The Yardbirds, while Stewart was a member of The Mindbenders, whose Groovy Kind Of Love topped the UK charts) . The band is known for pop classics such as I’m Not In Love, as well as more avant garde tracks like Art For Art’s Sake and Wall Street Shuffle. Godley and Crème’s Une Nuit A Paris is often cited as an influence on Freddie Mercury when writing Bohemian Rhapsody. After initially being rejected by record labels including Apple, the band was taken on by music mogul Jonathan King, who signed them to his UK Records label. With the help of King, 10cc found airplay on UK radio stations and the debut single Donna reached number 2 on the UK charts.