I'm not in love So don't forget it It's just a silly phase I'm going through And just because I call you up Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made

Hip to be Square

“I’m Not in Love”, 10cc (1975)

Not sure if you have heard of ‘Godley and Creme’. They were kind of an experimental art rock song writing team who did some great work after the breakup of 10cc. The song “Cry” is an engineered piece of genius. Well worth a listen. 

Kevin Godley and Lol  Crème were the ‘Art’, while Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart were the “Pop” in the seventies band ‘10cc’ started in the late ‘60s but thus named in 1972. 

Although everyone in the band wrote songs, it was Gouldman and Stewart numbers that gave 10cc its commercial approach. That is not to say that Godley and Crème did not have a huge impact on the experimentation and ultimate sound of 10cc, with such funky inventions as the ‘gyzmotron’, which made some seriously unique guitar sounds, such as unlimited sustain.

The various members knew each other and collaborated off and on since the early ‘60’s, with the most commercially successful effort being Eric Stewart’s “Groovy Kind of Love” with the ‘Mindbenders’ in 1965.

After being rejected by the famous Beatle-owned ‘Apple records’, the band decided to give it another go.  Signed to ‘U.K. Records’; in 1972 the original line-up of 10cc put out 2 albums that were very well received in the U.K. – and then it happened. Godley and Crème left the band. 

It seemed kind of insane at the time as every member of the group could write songs, play a number of instruments and sing. How often does that happen? 

Anyway, the band decides to stick with the name ‘10cc” and not downgrade to ‘5cc” with Gouldman and Stewart ramping up the commercial beast that was starting to receive worldwide attention.  

1977’s ‘Deceptive Bends’ hit the U.S. charts with “The Things We Do for Love” and “Good Morning Judge”. My favourite 10cc song, reggae-infused “Dreadlock Holiday” was release on their next album “Bloody Tourists” in 1978. 

Stewart suffered from a serious car accident and was out of the picture when the Punk movement was coming to the forefront in 1978. When a greatest hits collection was released in 1979 to keep the momentum going, “I’m Not in Love”, was included Allthough they tried, they were never able to continue the success of 10cc although many solo projects and even a reunion have occurred. 

The tongue-in-cheek love song “I’m Not in Love” was recorded when Godley and Crème were still around in 10cc, and their influence is unmistakable. The mix of voices and the lush instrumentation in “I’m Not is Love” was highly innovative at the time, given the technology available.  The same layered voice effect was used 2 years later in Billy Joel's, “Just the Way You Are” Originally this was supposed to be a ‘Bossa Nova’ tune but Godley and Crème declared that it was crap!  After they recrafted it, it was the perfect art/pop song that defined 10cc’s success, and still sounds great to this day!