Kevin Godley | |
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 Godley performing live with 10cc in 1976 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin Michael Godley |
| Born | 7 October 1945 Prestwich, Lancashire, England [1] |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | kevin-godley |
Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is a British singer-songwriter, drummer and music video director. He was a singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later was part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme.
Kevin Michael Godley was born on 7 October 1945 in Prestwich, Lancashire, England, to a Jewish family, and went to North Cestrian Grammar School in Altrincham. [3]
While attending art college in Manchester Godley met future creative partner Lol Creme. Godley and Creme joined the R&B combo the Sabres. [4]
They became involved in a number of bands such as the Mockingbirds, Hotlegs and later 10cc. As part of the bands Godley was a songwriter, lead vocalist, played drums, percussion and keyboards. Godley and Creme recorded four studio albums with 10cc. [5] In 1977, early in the recording of the band's fifth studio album Deceptive Bends , unimpressed with the songs by bandmates Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman and eager to work on other projects outside of the band, Godley and Creme left. [6]
In 1977 they released their first album project - Consequences (Godley & Creme album) - a concept album demonstration piece for the "Gizmo" a device that enabled an electric guitar to mimic orchestral instruments the pair had begun developing early on in 10CC years. Consequences is basically a story about meek Walter Stapleton divorcing his French playgirl wife, with English comedian and satirist Peter Cook voicing the parts of 2 solicitors, the irascible Pepperman and the alcoholic Haig, and Haigs' downstairs resident & reclusive musician Mr Blint, who constantly interrupts them and confuses the proceedings, and singer Sarah Vaughan. The album was released as a 3 LP box set.
Consequences attained a niche following and had 1 single released from it, "Five O'clock in the Morning". However, despite the creativity, innovation and imagination involved, it was a commercial flop.
Both Godley and Creme briefly 'reunited' with their former 10cc bandmates Stewart and Gouldman on the band's tenth studio album ...Meanwhile (1992). Following ...Meanwhile, Godley and Creme went their separate ways again, having experienced difficulties together as early as 1988. [7]
Godley later again reunited with Gouldman to form the band GG/06. Together they recorded a self-titled extended play (EP), which was made available for free via their website. [8] Since then Godley has several times joined Gouldman's iteration of 10cc in concert, and was featured on the live and video album Clever Clogs (2008). [9]
More recently Godley moved into developing a music platform for the iPad, one that combines audio and video to create a global recording studio in the cloud called "WholeWorldBand". [10] The company was nominated for the SXSW Music Accelerator Award in 2013, and was one of eight finalists selected from a pool of over 500. [11]
In 2017, Godley publicly invited musicians to send him music to work on his debut solo studio album, titled Muscle Memory with the idea being that he would take the rough ideas and turn them into a finished song. [12] The album was originally supposed to be released in 2018 through campaign on pledgemusic.com, but due to its closure the release was postponed. In 2021, Kevin Godley's album Muscle Memory was completed and released by The state51 Conspiracy after the project stalled as a PledgeMusic campaign. [13]
In 2018, Godley was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts by Staffordshire University. [14] In 2021, Godley joined "Group of Humans" [15] a globally distributed community of creative leaders and change architects as Creative Director. [16] He currently lives and works in Wicklow, Ireland with his wife Sue, [17] and hopes to direct a film based on Orson Welles' time in Ireland. [18]
Studio albums
As featured artist | With GG/06
10cc |
10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians — Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme — who had written and recorded together since 1968. All four members contributed to songwriting, working together in various permutations. Godley and Creme’s songwriting has been described as being inspired by art and cinema. Every member of 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. Most of the band's records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.
Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music video for their single "An Englishman in New York". After this, they became involved in the production of videos for artists such as Ultravox, the Police, Yes, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Huey Lewis and the News and Wang Chung, as well as directing the groundbreaking video for their 1985 single "Cry". The duo split at the end of the 1980s. Both have since been involved in music videos, TV commercials, and sporadic music projects.
Eric Michael Stewart is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 10cc from 1972 to 1995. Stewart co-owned Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England, from 1968 to the early 1980s, where he recorded albums with 10cc and artists including Neil Sedaka and Paul McCartney. Stewart collaborated with McCartney extensively in the 1980s, playing on or co-writing songs for McCartney's solo albums Tug of War (1982), Pipes of Peace (1983), Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), and Press to Play (1986). Since 1980, Stewart has released four solo studio albums.
Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme is a British musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He was later one half of the duo Godley & Creme, with 10cc drummer Kevin Godley. Creme has collaborated with Trevor Horn's Band. He sings and plays guitar, bass and keyboards.
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc, Gouldman worked as a freelance songwriter and penned many hits for major rock and pop groups, including the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Ohio Express.
Hotlegs was a short-lived English band best known for their hit single "Neanderthal Man" in 1970. The band consisted of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and – briefly – Graham Gouldman. In 1972, the band re-branded themselves as 10cc.
Sheet Music is the second album by the English rock band 10cc. It was released in 1974 on UK records, and yielded the hit singles "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". The album reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 81 in the United States.
Deceptive Bends is the fifth studio album by the British rock band 10cc, released in 1977. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of founding members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme and produced the hit single "The Things We Do for Love".
...Meanwhile is the tenth studio album by the British rock band 10cc, released in 1992. It was the band's first in nine years and marked the brief comeback of the original 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.
The History Mix Volume 1 is the sixth studio album by English duo Godley & Creme, released in June 1985 by Polydor Records. The album was a remix of songs spanning the career of Godley & Creme and their earlier bands, 10cc, Doctor Father and Hotlegs.
Thinks: School Stinks is the only studio album by English pop band Hotlegs. The album, featuring the band's hit single "Neanderthal Man", was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport near Manchester and engineered by the studio's co-owners, Eric Stewart and Peter Tattersall.
Strawberry Bubblegum: A Collection of Pre-10CC Strawberry Studio Recordings 1969–1972 is a compilation of songs recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England, by the four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who in 1972 would form the British pop band 10cc, along with occasional guest vocalists.
Greatest Hits ... And More is a 2006 compilation and video albums of songs by English pop group 10cc as well as pre-10cc and post-10cc work by its founding members, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, performing as Godley & Creme.
"Neanderthal Man" is a song by Hotlegs, an English pop band that was later relaunched as 10cc. The song, initially created only as a studio exercise to test drum sounds on new recording equipment, sold over two million copies and reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 22 in the US. It reached No. 1 in Italy and Germany and was also a Top 20 hit in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and Japan.
Solitaire is a 1972 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka.
Changing Faces – The Very Best of 10cc and Godley & Creme is a compilation album that included the hits of 10cc and Godley & Creme, the first album to include both bands.
100cc, also known as 100cc - Greatest Hits of 10cc is a compilation album by the English rock band 10cc.
Clever Clogs is a live and video album by 10cc released in 2008.
Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley & Creme 1967–1969 is an album by Godley & Creme, released on Grapefruit Records in 2022.
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