Graham Gouldman’s memories of San Francisco are admittedly a little foggy.
But 10cc’s singer/bassist vaguely recalls vacationing in and around Fog City in the 1960s.
“I think I took my parents there in ‘67 or ‘68,” says Gouldman. “It was a beautiful city. I mostly remember the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito. It must have made an impression on us if I wrote a song about it.”
The tune was 1969’s “Sausalito (Is the Place to Go),” a minor hit for bubblegum band Ohio Express.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is better remembered for penning The Yardbirds’ “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul” and The Hollies’ “Bus Stop,” not to mention his work with UK’s 10cc.
The influential art-rock supergroup of Gouldman, keyboardist-guitarists Eric Stewart and Lol Creme, and drummer Kevin Godley dominated charts in the ‘70s with a slew of pop-rock anthems—the haunting “I’m Not in Love,” hopeful “The Things We Do for Love” and “People in Love,” and reggae-inflected “Dreadlock Holiday,” to name a few.
While Godley & Creme went on to produce and direct the groundbreaking early MTV era clip for “Cry” and become award-winning video directors for Ultravox, The Police, and Duran Duran, and Stewart collaborated with Paul McCartney for much of the ‘80s, Gouldman remained 10cc’s consistent torchbearer, recording and touring with a revolving lineup of musicians between solo projects.
The group’s first US outing in 30-plus years, dubbed “The Ultimate, Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour,” hitting 20 stateside cities including San Francisco this week (Sat/17), makes good on its promise to its legion of fans screaming “I want my 10cc,” by foregrounding the creme-de-la-creme of the band’s extensive songbook.
“People are coming to see 10cc, so they’re going to get all the hits that you would expect, plus various album tracks and a couple of little surprises,” says Gouldman.
In advance of the SF date, Gouldman and I took a trip down memory lane, chatting about devising 10cc’s name, the recording of “I’m Not in Love,” and why the outfit’s anti-love songs are so beloved to this day.
48 HILLS There are many competing theories online as to the significance of the 10cc band name. There was even one that made me blush.
GRAHAM GOULDMAN You might be referring to the average male ejaculation…
48 HILLS There’s also the story that a record executive dreamt that he saw the name on a venue marquee.
GRAHAM GOULDMAN That is the correct one. Our first label, UK Records, was run by Jonathan King. We had a single that Jonathan wanted to put out—our first single, “Donna.” So Jonathan came up to the studio and said, “I love the record. Have you guys got a name?” We said, “No,” and he said, “Well, last night I had a dream that I was standing in front of the Hammersmith Odeon in London, and on the marquee it said, ’10cc: the best band in the world.’” So he said, “What do you think of that name?” and we said, “Fine,” and that was it. It sounded good and had a nice ring to it.
48 HILLS It was interesting to discover that 10cc was anti love songs yet had three hits with “love” in the title. Make that make sense to me.
GRAHAM GOULDMAN We had avoided writing a love song unless it was a parody or a pastiche. But I always felt that we could write a great one. Eric Stewart came up with the perfect title of the sort of anti-love song with “I’m Not in Love.”
Then “The Things We Do for Love” evolved as we had the music, and I remember Eric saying he wanted to write about suicide. I said, “That’s not a very good idea. This doesn’t sound like a suicide. The music is happy and uplifting.” Then he came up with the title “The Things We Do for Love.” He’s very good at coming up with titles.
48 HILLS How did the inclusion of “I’m Not in Love”’ in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and “Dreadlock Holiday” in 2010’s The Social Network change 10cc’s fortunes?
GRAHAM GOULDMAN Both those songs being featured in those movies was important. “I’m Not in Love” being in Guardians of the Galaxy brought us a whole new younger audience. It opened up lots of new markets for us by bringing the music to people who might not normally listen to it.
48 HILLS You’ve blamed 10cc’s decline in the late ‘70s on the advent of punk. Yet you were enlisted to produce the Pleasant Dreams album for the Ramones, featuring “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” There’s a sort of irony there, right?
GRAHAM GOULDMAN There’s a kind of an irony here that funnily enough, I’d not realized till now. In a way, punk destroyed what bands like 10cc, Genesis, Queen, and Roxy Music were doing. And then, not long after that, I produced a band that was right at the forefront of punk. That’s very weird. I never thought about that.
But their manager contacted my manager and said, “How about producing an album for the Ramones?” The first thing I said was, “Why me?” It didn’t make any sense. I think what they wanted was someone who was connected to the British Invasion—songs like “Heart Full of Soul” or “Bus Stop” that they felt a connection with. As intrigued as I was with the idea, I was worried that it wouldn’t work. So I said, “Listen, let’s do two or three tracks and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll say, ‘Thank you very much and goodbye.’”
So I came to New York to do the tracks. We recorded them in about two weeks. The guys were great. They were always very punctual. I know there were a lot of tensions in the band. I didn’t sense that at all, though. I was just concentrating on producing the record. I enjoyed working with them.
48 HILLS I know you got your start writing bubblegum tracks, and I always thought there was something very bubblegum about the Ramones.
GRAHAM GOULDMAN It’s a simplicity. There are no fancy chords. Lyrically speaking, there is a difference, but musically, they’re not a million miles away from each other. You’re right.
48 HILLS I want to ask you about Andrew Gold, with whom you collaborated frequently. Most people know him as the writer of The Golden Girls’ theme song. But he was so much more to you. What would you like people to know about him?
GRAHAM GOULDMAN He was so much more than one song. First of all, he was what I call a “jack of all trades and a master of all of them.” I’m talking about guitars, keyboards, drums, and singing. He was a great producer and songwriter as well. You need to listen to All This and Heaven Too.
When we worked together in a band called Wax that had some success in the UK and Europe, it was one of my happiest musical and personal relationships. He was multitalented, funny, and very clever.
48 HILLS There are so many people in the world who have been Beatles and The Beach Boys fans, including members of 10cc. Pretty quickly, critics were comparing you to them, and you eventually collaborated with Ringo Starr. What was it like to work with him after being such a fan?
GRAHAM GOULDMAN It was surreal. I never got over it. It was always “I’m standing next to a Beatle.” My last album was called, Modesty Forbids, and the opening track, “Standing Next to Me,” is about my time with Ringo—and Ringo plays on it as well. He plays on a track on the new album as well. So I’m playing away and then I’m going, “It’s Ringo Starr,” in my head.
48 HILLS OK, let’s dive into your I Have Notes album (especially its “We’re Alive” single), which leans heavily on the Nashville sound. For so many artists I’ve interviewed like John Waite, Dave Stewart, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Adrian Belew, X, Debby Boone, and 3 Doors Down, it seems like a Nashville record comes into play at some point. Why is that?
GRAHAM GOULDMAN I’ve been writing and working in Nashville for years. This song was written in Nashville with two of my regular cowriters. When in Nashville, do as the Nashvillians.
The song came about because we were talking about not being able to dance. When people know you’re a musician and have rhythm, they think you should be able to dance, but none of us can dance. We were talking about that and how we hated the idea of having to go on a dance floor. We were also talking about getting off the computer and just dancing. Let’s be alive rather than being stuck in front of a keyboard. The lyric speaks to that idea. I find it quite life-affirming, and people say it makes them happy—so job done.
48 HILLS Tell me about working with Queen’s Brian May on the LP’s space ballad, “Floating in Heaven.”
GRAHAM GOULDMAN The song was inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope, which was recently launched and is sending us back the most amazing pictures. I love astronomy, but I’m not an expert like Brian May. So I got inspired by it, started following it on the NASA website, and wrote a song about it.
Andrew, at my record company, suggested I ask Brian to play on the record because he’s a brilliant guitarist, an astronomer, and an astrophysicist. I sent it to him and he came back right away and said, “I love this song. I want to play on it.” He plays guitar on it. He does backing vocals. He was very involved in the production of it as well. That led to some other stuff that we did together. It’s a really lovely experience working with him. He is a wonderful human being.
10CC Sat/17, Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, SF. Tickets and more info here.
