Caropop

“If we did something that was too drab, too normal, too obvious, we'd say, ‘Nah, let's give it a kick in the ass.’” That’s how Kevin Godley describes the approach of his former band, 10cc, and his drive for creativity and art has not abated. Godley was 10cc’s angelic-voiced drummer who would go on to make inventive music and groundbreaking videos with Godley & Creme. In Pt. 1 of this illuminating conversation, Godley explains how Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart and he—all strong songwriters and singers—formed 10cc near Manchester, England, and figured out who would do what. They stretched out on such Godley-Creme songs as “Somewhere in Hollywood” and "Une Nuit a Paris" (which perhaps inspired Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”), but the popularity of “I’m Not in Love” had unintended consequences. What was it about the new song that Stewart and Gouldman played for Godley and Creme that blew apart the songwriting teams for good?