Hitmaker and long-time stalwart of 10cc, one of the most enduring bands of the 70s Graham Gouldman continues to tour relentlessly. He talks to Carl Marsh
Did you ever question what you were doing back when you were starting out with your decision to go into music?
Not at all. My mom and dad were very encouraging of what I did. I was dreadful at school academically, I was a complete failure. That was a good thing in a way because had I shown any academic acumen then maybe my parents would have said, “Well, hang on a minute, it’ll be nice if you studied law or something like that or medicine,” but that wasn’t going to happen. So, the combination of me not being that clever at school but having a gift for music worked very well for me.
What do you think you would have done if you didn’t go into music?
I don’t know. I would have liked to have done medicine somehow. Those are the people that I have a tremendous, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for lots of people, but if you can help someone medically, then that’s one of the greatest gifts.
Whenever your music is featured on a TV show or in a film today, does that give you a new audience?
What’s happened is that there are lots of bands that are still going in various forms and they can still do it because people want to see music live. This is the thing, it’s about songs that have stood the test of time. Even bands that are older than 10cc are still going out because people want to hear their songs. Our audiences are of the age that one would expect, but you also get their kids so you’re getting people in their late 30s, 40s and sometimes we get people even younger like their kids as well. It’s like our grandchildren are coming to the gigs!
I can relate; I was watching that Guardian of the Galaxy film a few years ago, and it’s your track at the beginning. I bet you thought that all of your Christmases had come at once for that year?
It’s always nice when that happens and some of the songs that I have been associated with or written myself, they just seem to go on and on, and I don’t think they’ll ever stop, not during my lifetime anyway.
As long as you’ve got the right track, music is timeless?
It can be timeless, it’s so affecting, and it’s a kind of medicine in a way, it can be a tonic, it can make you feel good. When you’re in front of an audience, and you’re looking at their faces, and they know the words, and there’s a kind of joy there that is coming out of you and your band, it’s great. It’s a beautiful feeling. It’s a two-way thing.
What moment did you realise that a track you were working on was going to be a success?
Yes, you get that feeling that this is something special. Not necessarily like “This is going to be a hit”, but a good song. Firstly, for a song to be finished, it must have legs of its own for you to want to finish it. The songs that arrive the quickest are usually the best. You don’t have to work on them. It’s almost as if they already exist in your head and you’re just the conduit for them to emerge from. All songwriters will say pretty much the same thing about that. Some things that come out so fully formed, it’s amazing. Then you worry, “Oh, has someone else found this?” and sometimes they have, but very rarely does that happen. A lot of the time it’s a bit of a mystery what actually goes on. I don’t really want to solve that mystery either. I just like the idea that some weird subconscious thing is going on, and out it comes. Why one person should go create one series of notes with this series of chords and arrange them in a certain way, and someone else can do almost the same thing. One sounds brilliant, and the other one doesn’t. It’s a mystery.
When you think about it, it’s strange to believe that there’s only so much ‘you’ can do with music, but there’s so much the music can do for ‘you’ if that makes any sense?
Yeah, you get things such as take a song like Somewhere, I can listen to the first two notes of that song and be completely gone, even though I know what’s coming. It’s the beginning of something beautiful. Of course, lots of songs have that effect. It takes us back to relationships, good or bad and take us to places immediately, and it’s incredible.
You have had a really long career in music but is there anything you would have changed if you could?
I don’t think I can complain honestly, really. The only thing I regret is that Kevin [Godley, drums] and Lol [Creme, guitar] left 10cc in 1976. I think we could have gone on to do great things and more significant things really.
What are the highlights of your life so far?
It’s usually at the beginning of something, at the start of the journey rather than at the end of the journey. The first song that I’d written and that became a hit was For Your Love in 1965. I think when I first heard that it had gotten in the charts, was when I got the actual record of it, it was massive.
That was the song that was sung by The Yardbirds, wasn’t it?
Yes. Then the next one was when Donna went to the charts, which was the first 10cc hit in 1972. There were three number ones during our career which were Rubber Bullets, I’m Not In Love and Dreadlock Holiday. Obviously, there’s something great about being number one. Working with Andrew Gold during the ’80s when we went back on to Top Of The Pops with Bridge to Your Heart and more recently, playing at the Albert Hall, which we are doing again this year, playing at the London Palladium, and also last year I’ve worked with Ringo Starr and the All Starr Band. Those two tours were absolutely brilliant. Massive fun and just great to be working with one of the greats.
10cc, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Fri 8 Mar. Tickets: £35.50/£39.50 (sold out, check for returns). Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk