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With a back catalogue of era defining and genre smashing hits such as I’m Not In Love and the iconic earworm inviting Dreadlock Holiday, 10cc are one of the very few acts to have achieved commercial, critical and creative success in equal measure.
Meanwhile Gouldman, the band’s only constant member since its formation in 1972, is also widely considered as one of the world’s leading songwriters. This status cemented with an induction into America’s Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2014 joining the likes of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen, to name just a few.
Gouldman and 10cc have of course scooped a series of accolades including Ivor Novello Awards and scored more than 30 million album sales around the world. So naturally my first question was: “What inspires you to keep on the road, touring and making music?”
“Simply put, I have a real love of playing music and working with this fantastic band”, said Gouldman.
“I enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy what you do, don’t do it.
“We love touring and playing together and we get on really well. Audiences know: there’s no hiding place when you’re on stage. They know that we love this, and that we’re having a genuinely good time up there.”
Lancashire born Gouldman was speaking to us from his London home having just returned from a month-long tour in America. “It’s such a big country and you’d need to tour for months to get around all those cities.”
He is now revving up for five Irish dates in September including shows in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall and Derry’s Millennium Forum.
He told us: “We’ve been to Ireland quite a few times, we were last there two years ago so we’re very much looking forward to coming back.
“We love to play to Irish fans: audiences are really enthusiastic and appreciative. They just love those songs!”
The singer also enthused how seeing original member Kevin Godley, who now lives in Ireland, at one of their last shows here is a really fond memory for him. Godley was of course part of the band’s original line-up alongside Gouldman, Eric Stewart and Lol Creme which burst onto the scene in the 70s quickly achieving acclaim as “rulers of the pop world”. And high praise from critics including Rolling Stone Magazine and The NME soon rolled in. The latter called I’m Not In Love a “John Lennon song with a Paul McCartney vocal”.
Today’s line-up includes the immeasurably talented Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess (both worked with 10cc from the early years), Ian Hornal and Keith Hayman. Gouldman said: “Although the personnel may have changed, the songs haven’t. Hit after hit after hit…it’s relentless, we show no mercy.”
Ringo is still touring too, The Stones, they all still love to do it. And as long as audiences still love the music, why would we stop?
— Graham Gouldman, 10cc
Graham Gouldman, who by his own admission had a “slightly hoarse throat” after the band’s string of shows in the US said that “touring really forces you to look after yourself, which is of course a good thing”.
He continued: “I do what I love to stay fit and it’s really not a job because I do love it.
We talked about Paul McCartney’s stage presence at Glastonbury in 2022 and Gouldman added: “Ringo is still touring too, The Stones, they all still love to do it. And as long as audiences still love the music, why would we stop?”
A vanguard of the industry along with the likes of those just mentioned, I asked Gouldman if he had one particular highlight of his impressive career that he would like to mention. He said that would have to be his first time success “all those years back in 1965″ with his song, For Your Love becoming a huge hit for The Yardbirds.
“It’s where it all started really.”
I also asked him if there were any new artists he would rate to which he replied “Billie Eilish” and also, “The Last Dinner Party”.
“Interestingly”, said Gouldman. “I rang my son who is president of Island Records UK to say ‘you should hear this band’ and he said, ‘I already have... and we’ve just signed them’”.
Good taste and an ear for music clearly runs in the family then.
And of course, 10cc’s music also recently gained legions of new fans courtesy of blockbuster Disney film Guardians of The Galaxy which used I’m Not In Love as its lead track and Dreadlock Holiday, which was on the soundtrack of the 2010 film The Social Network. Meanwhile The Things We Do For Love was the lead track for Ricky Gervais’s smash hit After Life Series 3 on Netflix.
Gouldman moved to streaming music and video platforms saying: “Audiences go online, check out that particular song and then some of our other music, so that’s really positive.
“It’s positive generally as it gives everyone easier access to music but royalties are not good. An artist will have to create a massive hit in order to make a decent amount of money.
“Someone might post a clip of our shows online, the sound or image mightn’t be great quality, but it opens up new audiences. It’s the modern way.
“People like to film on their phones I guess – it’s like a souvenir to say ‘I was there’, especially when I’m Not in Loves comes on.”
We’ve been to Ireland quite a few times and we’re very much looking forward to coming back. We love to play to Irish fans. . . audiences are really enthusiastic and appreciative. They just love those songs
— Graham Gouldman, 10cc
Gouldman told us he was, in his own words, “a self-confessed music nerd” adding: “I still see the value in buying an LP and vinyl. There’s so much extra. You get to read the lyrics, enjoy artwork and I want to know ‘hey who’s playing the drums on that track’. I’m interested in the people behind the record.
“It’s like buying the newspaper. I love buying a Sunday newspaper and reading all the sections. It’s my treat, some ‘me time’ and I keep that paper on the table, dipping in and out of things that interest me.
“There’s also something so lovely about books. I love my Kindle, one really great feature is the way you can instantly look up the meaning of a word, but there’s also something really special about buying a book.
“I went to a bookshop recently to buy a card for my daughter and also picked up a hard copy of one of my wife’s favourite books, she was absolutely delighted.”
A fan of the old ways, but also open to new methods and innovations – the best of both worlds and no doubt one of the many reasons Gouldman and 10cc have enjoyed such longevity.
“We hope to see some new fans singing along at our Irish shows, that would be really great. And long time fans can look forward to all those hits that they really enjoy,” he continued.
And that leads me to my final question: “What do you put your lasting success down to?”
To which Gouldman replied: “Really, the songs…their longevity and, we hope, timeless appeal.
“Our music has appeared in so many new shows. They obviously hit a particular note with that producer or director.
“And we never really know what’s coming next, but it’s a nice surprise.”
10cc The Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour will play in Derry’s Millennium Forum on September 20; Belfast’s Waterfront on September 21; Cork Opera House on September 22 and Vicar St Dublin on September 24 and 25.
Information and tickets at joegallagherentertainments.com/events