The Original Soundtrack Press Kit

(Phonogram letterhead)
March 11, 1975

10cc "THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK" SRM-1-1029

Here it is! The new album by one of the most talented and well respected groups, 10cc. Their new album on Mercury is entitled "The Original Soundtrack," SRM-1-1029.

The album contains 42 brilliant minutes of creativity. It is important that you read the lyric sheet enclosed to fully appreciate each song. The first cut on side one takes you through the city of Paris, France in a way never before done with music. Each of the remaining songs throughout the album are equally creative.

I especially like the messages contained in "Blackmail", (cut 3, side 1), and "Life Is A Minestrone" (cut 4, side 2). However, for pure beauty you would have to go a long way to match, "I'm Not In Love."

The credentials of the four members of this group are impressive.

Eric Stewart was the lead singer in the million seller hit "Groovy Kind of Love". Graham Gouldman wrote such hits as "For Your Love" and "Heart Full Of Soul" for the Yardbirds; "Bus Stop" and "Look Through Any Window" for the Hollies; "No Milk Today" for Herman's Hermits and the first [sic] Jeff Beck single, "Tallyman." Stewart, along with Lol Creme and Kevin Godley had a hit with "Neanderthal Man" under the name of Hotlegs.

10cc has won numerous awards both in the U.S. and in Great Britain. Their last U.S. tour covered the New England states all the way to LA and was highly successful.

Phonogram/Mercury plans very extensive promotion and advertising support for the new 10cc album, "The Original Soundtrack".

Sincerely,
(signature)
JULES ABRAMSON
Vice President
National Sales

Press kit:

[Not a folder, but a biography and 8-by-10 photo stapled into two cardboard 8-1/2-by-11 sheets, the front cover being basically the same as the LP cover and the back cover blank. Photo is a nice b&w group shot on semi-glossy paper. Bio is four pages on cream-colored paper in black type.]

Biography:

When you boil it down, there is actually no niche you can stick 10cc into and have it fit properly. It's the basic "square peg in a round hole" problem. 10cc in its first two LP's, "10cc" and "Sheet Music," have covered 50's rock, late-'60s heavy metal, mid-60's California harmonies, and bossa nova, sometimes all in the same song.

The group can only be classified in the broadest sense of the term as exponents of "British pop music." With 10cc's worldwide debut on Mercury, "The Original Soundtrack," that classification will go down the tubes. There is a growing musical sophistication, complemented by the group's humorous (some might say weird) lyrical approach.

The group is composed [sic] of Lol Creme, Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley. On the album, Lol plays 12 instruments; Eric, 6; Graham, 7; and Kevin, 8. All the members have been around professionally before joining forces in 10cc.

Stewart dates back to the Mindbenders (both with and without Wayne Fontana), and was the lead singer on "Groovy Kind of Love." Toward the end of the Mindbenders, Graham Gouldman joined the group. Graham has writing credits including "For Your Love," and "Heart Full of Soul," for the Yardbirds; "Bus Stop," and "Look Through Any Window," for The Hollies; "Listen People," and "No Milk Today," for Herman's Hermits and those are just the big hits. Following the Mindbenders, he recorded a solo album, "The Graham Gouldman Thing" and thereafter started working as a producer. At [sic] one recording he needed a high voice, and remembered Kevin Godley from teenage days when both played against each other in weekly battle of the bands contests. [Presumably Graham forgot all about the Mockingbirds!] Kevin's singing partner at the time was Lol Creme, another veteran of the same contests.

Eventually Lol and Kevin met Eric through Graham and started working with him at Strawberry Studios in Manchester, a studio Stewart helped found. It was there that the three [which three, one might wonder] recorded "Neanderthal Man," a worldwide million seller, under the name of Hot Legs [sic]. A British tour with the Moody Blues followed, with Graham joining them for the live gigs. Following the tour the four began producing and recording backing tracks for other people including Neil Sedaka. Eventually they came up with a song called "Donna," an hilarious spoof of 1950's doo-wop, which was released in August of 1972 under the name of 10cc. Within weeks, "Donna" was Top 5 in England. Then came "Rubber Bullets," another English smash and a much-played single in America. The debit album was "10cc" which was an instant monster in Britain, and enjoyed considerable action in the U.S. resulting in Cash Box naming 10cc "Best New Group of 1973."

In August of '73 10cc emerged from Strawberry Studios to tour Britain. They decided that an extra drummer was required in order to give Kevin more freedom to sing so 24-year-old Paul Burgess joined the band for live performances. [We can only speculate whey Burgess's age was important to note here.] In February '74 they embarked on their first tour of the States where they appeared in 107 cities [and] on "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert." Hailed as the hottest band around they received a fantastic welcome from both audiences and critics alike, and were immediately booked to return for a major concert tour the following summer.

In May last year 10cc released their second LP, "Sheet Music." The album received excellent reviews and went straight into the British and U.S. album charts, where it remained for several months. During the past few months 10cc has secluded itself working on the album, "The Original Soundtrack." Again, the diversity of the group is astounding. "Une Nuit A Paris" describes the encounters of a young man with various street people in Paris. "I'm Not In Love" is a beautiful lush ballad quite unlike anything the group has recorded before and cuts like "Blackmail," "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper," and "Life Is A Minestrone" combine rock with 10cc's particular brand of insane lyrics. "The Film Of My Love" is a send up of the movie industry, using every movie cliche for lyrics with B-Grade Italian movie music providing the instrumental support.

The difficulty of fitting the 10cc round peg in the descriptive square hole is apparent. [Now one imagines how the peg became round and the hole square.] Also apparent is the great amount of work and degree of thought that goes into 10cc music. What may not be apparent is the meaning of the name 10cc. Don't ask.

*****
MANAGEMENT:
Ric Dixon, Manager
(address)
BOOKING:
Premier Talent
(address)

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