The final remaining original member of 10cc, vocalist/bassist Graham Gouldman, on the conclusion of a tour based on the group’s second album, Sheet Music, in its 40th anniversary year.
You are playing Sheet Music in its entirety. Is this the first time some of the songs on it have been performed on stage?
Yeah. And listening again to them I understood why. Songs like Clockwork Creep and Hotel are very complex. But shaking up the set-list was great, because basically we’d done the same act, give or take a few songs, for quite a while.
How will the ‘special video contribution’ from ex-member Kevin Godley work?
Kevin pops up on the screens singing Somewhere In Hollywood, another of those songs we didn’t do first time around. It’s fantastic.
All four original band members were key writers, but can you break down what each person brought to the mix?
Kevin and Lol [Creme] were the more experimental, avant-garde ones, while Eric [Stewart] and I brought the poppier element to make things more commercial. Until things started unravelling it was a great partnership.
Things must be cool with Kevin, but how do Lol and Eric feel about your continued use of the 10cc name?
I know that Eric isn’t very happy, and with Lol I’ve not heard one way or the other. In fact I saw Lol two years ago – we were rehearsing in the same place – and there was a great chat between us. It was all very amicable. He didn’t hit me, put it that way [laughs].
Do you envisage circumstances under which any sort of reunion could happen?
I’m a ‘never say never’ guy, but with the others I suspect that too much water has gone under the bridge. Everyone moved on. It’s a shame. I wish we’d never split up.
It’s been two decades since the most recent album, Mirror Mirror. When it comes to making new music, has that ship now sailed?
There won’t be a new 10cc album, definitely not. I’m keeping the spirit and the music of 10cc alive with the concerts and tours, but it wouldn’t feel right without the other guys.
