David Randall chatted to Graham Gouldman about his career. First broadcast on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, 12 August 2018.

I worked out it’s nearly fifty years since I last saw 10cc live, and this was at the height of their seventies fame. Whilst aficionados remain impressed with the later albums …Meanwhile, and the last gasp Gouldman/Stewart collaboration Mirror Mirror, it’s the core seventies repertoire that persists.

Ably helmed by founder member Graham Gouldman (since 1999) the band also features mainstays Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess who can trace their own lineage back to 1976/77 (1973 if you include Burgess’ time as a touring member). This adds a reassuring note of authenticity.

10cc have one of the greatest pop rock songbooks of the seventies. Most songs played tonight were instantly recognisable thanks to the regular TV and radio coverage they originally received and not least because they are great songs. They were supplemented with a more recent piece Gouldman wrote featuring Brian May and a song co-written with vocalist/guitarist Iain Hornal. And ‘Ready To Go Home’ was a tribute to co-writer Andrew Gold with whom Gouldman collaborated as “Wax” in the late-1980s.

Billed as the Ultimate Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour. there were few surprises. The setlist was in fact almost identical to their October 2022 tour.

If this gig was then a very safe bet at the outset the repertoire was never in doubt and it was all executed perfectly. Perhaps too perfectly. The opening ‘Son Of Man’ video was impressive and the GG/06 grind may have even overshadowed what came next.

A live highlight ‘Art For Arts Sake’ was played early on and traditionally lends itself to an extended playout. That didn’t happen unfortunately and maybe two songs in the band hadn’t really warmed up. It was after all the first night of the tour. It would have been better placed after ‘Feel The Benefit’ a song which gave the band – erroneously – a progressive tag in some quarters .

In truth the band didn’t really come alive until the third encore ‘Rubber Bullets’ that also prised the audience from the newly refurbished seats at the one-time Colston Hall. Before that an acapella version of ‘Donna’ was sublime.

Along the way the setlist was peppered with pop history reference points but Gouldman is generous in his inclusion of songs he didn’t actually write including the somewhat bizarre ‘Clockwork Creep’ from ‘Sheet Music’.

The band’s version of ‘I’m Not In Love’ brought out the bossa nova style that was apparently present when the band first developed it whilst ‘Somewhere In Hollywood’ featured Kevin Godley on film reminding us that he and Lol Creme forged a healthy career in groundbreaking video production.

Iain Hornal shared lead vocal duties and at times brought a more West End show vibe to the delivery which was frankly a bit irritating. He lacked the soulfulness and sensitivity of an Eric Stewart akin to Tim Howar depping for Paul Young in Mike And The Mechanics.

What next for these seasoned troupers? The triple ultimate greatest hits tour?

Gouldman should be applauded for keeping the flame alive (and at the age of 77) but you can’t help thinking that this is a mellower iteration and that if Godley and Creme were on board there would be more grit in the mix.

Old Wild Men? Wait for the encores.

Review and photos by David Randall

Setlist: The Second Sitting For The Last Supper/Art For Art’s Sake/Life Is A Minestrone/Good Morning Judge/The Dean And I/Old Wild Men/Clockwork Creep/Feel The Benefit/The Wall Street Shuffle/Floating In Heaven/The Things We Do For Love/Say The Word/Silly Love/Somewhere In Hollywood/I’m Mandy Fly Me/I’m Not In Love/Dreadlock Holiday/Encore: Ready To Go Home/Donna/Rubber Bullets

MARCH 2024

The Ultimate Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour 2024

7 MAR Bristol Beacon SOLD OUT!
8 MAR Birmingham Symphony Hall
9 MAR Gateshead Sage SOLD OUT!
10 MAR York Barbican SOLD OUT!
12 MAR Liverpool Philharmonic Hall SOLD OUT!
13 MAR Dumfries Easterbrook Hall
14 MAR Perth Concert Hall
15 MAR Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
16 MAR Sheffield City Hall
18 MAR Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
19 MAR Manchester Bridgewater Hall SOLD OUT!
20 MAR Reading Hexagon
21 MAR Bournemouth Pavilion SOLD OUT!
22 MAR Oxford New Theatre
23 MAR Swansea Swansea Arena SOLD OUT!
25 MAR London Royal Albert Hall
26 MAR Southend Cliffs Pavilion
27 MAR Cardiff St Davids Hall

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Latest session: Sunday 14 April

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024

ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)

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