Status Quo and 10cc might look like a double-barrelled blast from the past. But as 10cc’s Graham Gouldman tells DAVID WHETSTONE, the music is as good and the appetite as sharp as ever
BACK in the mid 1970s, the shared concert billing of 10cc and Status Quo would have caused consternation among my fellow student gig-goers.
Before punk came along and re-drew the map, these two would have been viewed as poles apart – the innovative pop purveyors with the snazzy lyrics versus the rocky one-chord wonders.
“Except in America,” says Graham Gouldman of 10cc. “We once went on a tour of America with Slade. They had a completely different outlook on bands over there.”
Strange back then, not so strange now. Nowadays 10cc and Status Quo are linked by virtue of having survived the 70s.
Graham, who is actually the only founder member in the current 10cc line-up, says the two bands did play on the same bill back in their heyday – but it was on Top of the Pops.
Of their forthcoming reunion at Alnwick Castle in the national Summer Picnic Concerts series, Graham says: “We thought that actually it was quite a good evening out, to see 10cc and Status Quo, even though we’re from different places musically.
“I guess the fact that we’re from the same era has something to do with it, but it’ll be nice, I think, to enjoy both bands at the same time.”
Graham, who was born in Salford, was already a successful songwriter when 10cc burst out of Manchester and on to the national music scene in 1972 – the same year, incidentally, that Liam Gallagher, of Oasis, was born.
For Graham, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme a dizzy few years followed with hits – including Donna, Rubber Bullets and I’m Not In Love – coming thick and fast.
Graham remembers it as a great time of his life. “There was the excitement of playing and the camaraderie which goes with being a bunch of blokes on the road.
“So many funny things happened. Even when there was adversity we never let it bother us because we knew we could overcome it.”
He remembers they used to affect stiff-upper-lipped RAF banter of the sort you’ll find in the Biggles books of WE Johns.
“Once we lost some gear when we were going to play in Newcastle and I remember we had this whole routine going on: ‘Look, Ginger, they seem decent sort of chaps. Maybe we could borrow a bit of gear from them?’
“Other bands would always help out because we were all in the same boat.”
Or flying machine, maybe?
The 10cc lads were an intelligent bunch who soared for a few heady years with their artful pop. But in 1976 the original line-up fragmented and the rest of the story is a rock family tree.
Graham (bass, vocals) now lines up with drummer Paul Burgess, a 10cc member since 1973, Rick Fenn (guitar, vocals), Mick Wilson (percussion, vocals) and Keith Hayman (keyboards, vocals) who alternates with Mike Stevens, musical director of Take That.
They carry on, says Graham, because: “I really love being in a band and particularly a good band with very, very good songs.”
I wonder if the current 10cc are better musicians. Graham pauses before replying: “You could say, does it matter? It’s not the original band but the reviews speak for themselves. Mick Wilson is a fantastic singer, but he sings in the same spirit as Eric and Lol.
“That’s important because people do say the band has never sounded better. I’m always expecting people to say, ‘Yeah, but it’s not the original band’. But people don’t seem to care and the songs were always the band’s strength rather than the players. It has helped the band that we never had a Freddie Mercury figure.”
Graham turned 65 earlier this year and confesses, “I do get the odd ‘Oh, God’ moment. Mentally I’m not 65 and probably never will be. Like most of us, I think we live in our late teens and early 20s. But we’ve been travelling for ages and that’s the most tiring thing. I never get tired during a gig, but sometimes I do think, ‘What are you doing?’
“Everyone is waiting for the Stones to retire, I think. They’ve set the benchmark and it seems they might go on forever.”
Graham says 10cc still tour extensively because “the demand for the band is there and I can’t say no”. He was disappointed, being Jewish, that a planned trip to perform in Israel didn’t come off, but hopes it still might one day.
Currently Graham is working on a third solo album to follow others he brought out in 1969 and 2000.
“It’s not really a priority for me, but the reason I’m quite keen on getting it done is that next year will be 10cc’s 40th anniversary. I thought I ought to have something to add to the merchandise stand!
“But actually I did want to do it anyway. I’m always writing songs.”
10cc and Status Quo will perform what promises to be a cracking gig – aided by a fireworks finale – at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, on August 20. Tickets from 01603 660444 or other outlets listed on the website www.imlconcerts.co.uk