10cc, photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns
On the 26th of August 1973, 10cc made their live debut at the Palace Lido, Isle of Man, marking the beginning of a UK tour. Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Laurence Neil “Lol” Creme had been writing and recording together for almost three years before forming 10cc.
10cc is a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four multi-instrumentalists: Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Laurence Neil “Lol” Creme, who had recorded together since 1968. All four members were involved in songwriting. Godley and Creme’s compositions were influenced by art and movies. Most of the band’s records were recorded at Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with Stewart managing the engineering.
Between 1972 and 1978, 10cc achieved five consecutive UK top-ten albums: Sheet Music (1974), The Original Soundtrack (1975), How Dare You! (1976), Deceptive Bends (1977), and Bloody Tourists (1978). 10cc also had twelve songs that reached the UK Top 40, with No. 1 hits: “Rubber Bullets” (1973), “I’m Not in Love” (1975), and “Dreadlock Holiday” (1978).
In 1976, Godley and Creme quit the band to concentrate on developing an electronic music device “The Gizmo”, also called the Gizmotron. At that time, they were also getting into video production and music, known as Godley & Creme. Stewart left the band in 1995. Since 1999, Gouldman has led a touring version of 10cc.
“The Things We Do for Love” was released as a single in 1976. It featured on the album Deceptive Bends, 1977, and was the band’s first release after the departure of band members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.