Eric Stewart - vocals, guitars, keyboards; Graham Gouldman - vocals, bass, guitars; Lol Crème - vocals, keyboards, guitars; Kevin Godley - vocals, drums, percussion; Paul Burgess - drums, percussion, vocals
This recording, made for the King Biscuit Flower Hour in 1975, features the original members of 10cc while they were enjoying the success of their chart-topping hit, "I'm Not In Love." The humor-driven pop band, whose name is actually the metric total of semen the average male ejaculates during sex, became a top act in Europe and the U.K. but was mostly a cult sensation stateside. Consisting of an all-star cast of Manchester musicians, 10cc was one of the few bands where every member wrote and sang lead throughout entire albums. Obviously inspired by the "recording studio-is-an-instrument-in-itself" formula conceived by The Beatles, 10cc wrote intelligent and often hilarious pop songs that were sometimes hard to recreate live.
Gouldman had written hits for the Yardbirds, Herman's Hermits and other British Invasion bands; Stewart had been in Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders and appeared in the film To Sir, with Love; and Crème and Godley were topnotch studio musicians. All of the members of 10cc were excellent writers and vocalists. Still, this recording with extra musician Paul Burgess is a great example of rock 'n' roll meets Monty Python-esque humor, presented live on stage.
All the early, important tracks are here, including "I'm Not In Love," "Wall Street Schuffle," "Rubber Bullets" and the biting "Worst Band In The World," where they sing great lines such as "It's one thing to know it, and another to admit; We're the worst band in the world and we don't give a..." The original lineup never released a live album, so this performance is critical for all 10cc fans.