Page 29 - the NOISE March 2016

The band, circa 1972 MICHAEL PUTLAND - GETTY IMAGES
BY TONY BALLZ
of the first records released, “Sausalito” (credited to the Ohio Express, with Gouldman on lead vocal), made it up to #86 in Billboard.
Over the next three years singles would dribble out, credited to imaginary groups such as Silver Fleet, Garden Odyssey, Tristar Airbus, Festival, Fighter Squadron, Frabjoy & Runcible Spoon, Doctor Father and Grumble. All quickly disappeared. The Manchester quartet was never provided with a release schedule but for years afterward they would run across the singles randomly in bargain bins. Friends would approach them, record in hand, and ask, “Is this you guys?” They would often have to listen to be sure.
In 1970, Graham Gouldman moved to New York to work in the Kasenetz/Katz hit factory while the remaining trio continued to record at Strawberry. Free of the bubblegum producers, but with a toehold in the industry, they began licensing original songs to independent labels. One of these was a simple two chord stomp with intentionally moronic lyrics called
“Neanderthal Man” and credited to Hotlegs. To everyone’s surprise, the single zoomed to #2 in the UK, #22 in the US, #1 in Italy and Germany, and top 20 in Australia, Japan, France, Canada and Ireland. It eventually sold over two million copies. An LP, Thinks School Stinks, was quickly recorded and released.
Thesuccessof“NeanderthalMan”broughtanunforeseenproblem. Hotlegswasbombarded with requests for live shows and tours. To make this a reality, the trio brought Gouldman back into the fold. By the time he relocated and the group got their live chops together, it was too late for Hotlegs. The album and two subsequent singles tanked and the momentum from
“Neanderthal Man” was lost.
Strawberry Studios did see an increase in business. The rates were cheaper than their
London competitors and the schedule filled up. One artist who booked sessions was Neil Sedaka, the American songwriter who had hits with “Oh! Carol” and “Breaking up Is Hard to Do” in the early 1960s. Beatlemania had killed Sedaka’s career at home, and he had moved to London in 1970 to start over.
Sedaka cut two LPs at Strawberry with Stewart, Gouldman, Godley and Creme as his backing band. The four learned valuable lessons on instrumentation, arranging and the art of the pop song. The albums were hits in Britain. At a party in 1974, Sedaka was introduced to Elton John, who masterminded the singer’s US comeback. A track from one of the Strawberry LPs, “Love Will Keep Us Together,” was covered by Captain & Tennille in 1975 and taken to #1.
Emboldened by their small taste of success, the Mancunians wrote new material and shopped it around in earnest. One song, influenced by their experience with Sedaka, was a doo-wop pastiche with an appropriately squealy vocal by Lol Creme called “Donna.” The tune got the attention of Jonathan King, a flamboyant former pop star turned music entrepreneur and owner of UK Records. King signed the group and christened them 10cc, supposedly 1cc more than the amount of semen in the average male ejaculate. This story has been both confirmed and denied by the band.
Between 1972-1974, 10cc released a succession of brilliant singles for UK: “Donna,” “Rubber Bullets,” “The Dean And I,” “Headline Hustler,” “The Wall Street Shuffle,” “Silly Love,” and the self- deprecating “Worst Band In The World.” Most of these went top ten in Britain and a few received some American airplay.
Their two UK albums, 10cc and Sheet Music, are little masterpieces. The quartet deftly blend greasy ‘50s rock & roll, Beatlesque harmonies, Byrds jangle, psychedelia, bubblegum, progressive wankery, glam, folk, weepy ballads and heavy riff rock, all impeccably played and sung and produced, into something dazzling and singular. Stewart, Gouldman, Godley and Creme all contribute equally to the mixture, sort of like having John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ray Davies and Pete Townshend in one band.
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