10cc are an English rock band who formed in Stockport, England in 1972. It initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured two songwriting teams. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band’s accessible songs. By contrast, Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring art and cinematically-inspired writing.
Every member of 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. Most of the band’s records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.
From 1972 to 1978, 10cc had five consecutive UK top-ten albums: Sheet Music, The Original Soundtrack (1975), How Dare You! (1976), Deceptive Bends (1977) and Bloody Tourists (1978). They also had twelve singles reach the UK Top 40, three of which were the chart-toppers “Rubber Bullets” (1973), “I’m Not in Love” (1975) and “Dreadlock Holiday” (1978). “I’m Not in Love” was their breakthrough worldwide hit and is known for its innovative backing track. Godley and Creme quit the band in 1976 due to artistic disagreements and became a duo act. Stewart left the band in 1995. Since 1999, Gouldman has led a touring version of 10cc.