10CC

This month Martin Cooper checks out Eric Stewart and Lol Crème, whose distinctive styles helped give this UK band its unique sound.

- Martin Cooper

10 cc were formed in Stockport, UK in 1972 by drummer Kevin Godley, guitarist and keyboard player Lol Crème, guitarist Eric Stewart, and bass player Graham Gouldman. Each of the band members sang, wrote music and was a multi-instrumentalist. The albums were mostly recorded at their Strawberry Studios, with Stewart functioning as main engineer. Godley and Crème were often seen as the more experimental side of the group, with Stewart and Gouldman the more pop focused writers (Gouldman had written hits for The Hollies, Herman's Hermits and The Yardbirds, while Stewart was a member of The Mindbenders, whose Groovy Kind Of Love topped the UK charts). The band is known for pop classics such as I'm Not In Love, as well as more avant garde tracks like Art For Art's Sake and Wall Street Shuffle. Godley and Créme's Une Nuit A Paris is often cited as an influ