Back to the 1970s

Watch the video to I'm Not in Love by 10cc, a huge No 1 hit for the band in the UK in 1975 - video Read a very rare interview with the band  to mark the release of their new box set  Tenology

  10cc's blend of musical invention and lyrical lament brought pop perfection to the mid-70s charts Pinterest Few bands survive for long with four equally strong songwriters, so it was inevitable  10cc  would implode one day. But in the mid-1970s they brought musical invention and lyrical lament to the British pop charts, appealing as much to John Peel's earnest student listeners as to Top of the Pops teenyboppers. Graham Gouldman had already written hits including For Your Love and Heart Full of Soul for the Yardbirds, Bus Stop for the Hollies and No Milk Today for Herman's Hermits. His fellow Mancunians Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, joined by Eric Stewart who had played with Gouldman in the Mindbenders, had an international hit with  Neanderthal Man  under the name Hotlegs, before Gouldman joined and they were signed to Jonathan King's label UK Records and rechristened 10cc. The foursome soon divided into two main writing partnerships that brought commercial suc...

  The ’70s was a decade to be mellow. At least, that’s what it seemed like. People wore clothing and decorated their homes in mellow earth tones. And a lot of the music on the pop charts was definitely mellow. When I think of the mellow vibe of the ’70s, one song always comes to mind: “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc. It was released in May of 1975, right in the middle of the decade, and became one the British group’s three #1 hits in the U.K. “I’m Not in Love” also topped the charts in Ireland and Canada, just missing at #2 in the U.S. What really stands out about “I’m Not in Love” are the haunting multi-tracked backing vocals. Once you hear them, you don’t forget them. That could be why the song has been included on movie and TV soundtracks well into the 21st Century. Remember the  beginning of  Guardians of the Galaxy ? And the annoying repeated line of “Big boys don’t cry” that destroyed the midsection by mistake came courtesy of the band’s tone-deaf secretary, Miss Kathy Re...