"Rubber Bullets" | ||||
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Single by 10cc | ||||
from the album 10cc | ||||
B-side | "Waterfall" | |||
Released | June 1973 | |||
Genre | Art rock, glam rock, rock and roll | |||
Length | 3:40 (Radio Edit) 4:09 (Single Version) 5:15 (Album Version) | |||
Label | UK Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lol Creme Kevin Godley Graham Gouldman | |||
Producer(s) | 10cc | |||
10cc singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Rubber Bullets" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Rubber Bullets" |
"Rubber Bullets" is a song by the English band 10cc from their self-titled debut album. It was written by Lol Creme,Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman.
The song features a double-speed guitar solo, [1] guitarist Eric Stewart explained:
That's a double track solo on that. It's, it's very, very high, of course, going through a Marshall stack, then I slowed the tape to half speed – seven and a half [inches per second] – and recorded it, you know, going [plays singles picked notes slowly] and when you speed it back up you've got an octave up, but there's a screaming fuzz on the top of it, that's an octave higher than it was recorded. So it's a very unusual sound done in that way, just an experiment. Because 10cc, we love to experiment, we used to love to waste time. And having the beauty of having our own studio, we didn't have a clock in there so we weren't restricted.
Stewart also recalled:
I was amazed, but pleased that the BBC never banned the track, although they limited its airplay, because they thought it was about the ongoing Northern Ireland conflicts. In fact, it was about an Attica State Prison riot like the ones in the old James Cagney films. [2]
Bassist Graham Gouldman remembered:
Kevin and Lol had the chorus and part of the verse but then got stuck. We all loved the chorus and realised it was a hit in itself, so we wanted to persist with it. I chipped in the line 'we've all got balls and brains, but some's got balls and chains.' One of my finer couplets. [2]
Although the song was not banned by the BBC at the time of release, it was later banned for the duration of the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991. [3]
"Rubber Bullets" was the band's first number one single in the UK Singles Chart, spending one week at the top in June 1973. [4] It also reached No. 1 in Ireland for 2 weeks and No. 3 in Australia, but it fared relatively poorly in the United States where it peaked at only No. 73, [5] and in Canada (their first appearance) where it reached just No. 76. [6] The single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc. [7]
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.
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.
10cc is the debut album by the British rock band 10cc, first released in 1973. It was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, which was part-owned by guitarist and engineer Eric Stewart, and released on Jonathan King's UK Records label. The album reached number 36 in the UK Albums Chart.
"I'm Not in Love" is a song by British group 10cc, written by band members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. It is known for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. Released in the UK in May 1975 as the second single from the band's third album, The Original Soundtrack, it became the second of the group's three number-one singles in the UK between 1973 and 1978, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. "I'm Not in Love" became the band's breakthrough hit outside the United Kingdom, topping the charts in Canada and Ireland as well as peaking within the top 10 of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, West Germany, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.
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"Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae song by 10cc. Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, it was the lead single from the band's 1978 album, Bloody Tourists.
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.
"Donna" is the first single by British art pop band 10cc. Released in 1972, it peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.
"No Milk Today" is a song that was written by Graham Gouldman and originally recorded by British pop band Herman's Hermits. It was first released as a single by the Mancunian group in the UK in October 1966 and, with the B-side "My Reservation's Been Confirmed", enjoyed chart success, peaking at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart. Although not released as a single in the US, it was popular enough to become a moderate hit when it was released there as the B-side to "There's a Kind of Hush", reaching No. 35 in 1967. It was also a major hit in many European countries.
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.
Greatest Hits 1972–1978 is a compilation album by the English rock band 10cc
"The Things We Do for Love" is a song by British band 10cc, released as a single in 1976. It later featured on the album Deceptive Bends released in 1977 and was the group's first release after the departure of band members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.
"Life Is a Minestrone" is a 1975 song by 10cc released as a lead single from their third album, The Original Soundtrack.
Harvey Brian Lisberg is an English talent manager and impresario, best known for discovering Herman's Hermits in 1963. In 1965, he signed songwriter Graham Gouldman, a founder member of 10cc, who Lisberg also managed, along with Godley & Creme, Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Gordon Giltrap, Sad Café, Wax and others.
100cc, also known as 100cc - Greatest Hits of 10cc is a compilation album by the English rock band 10cc.
"That's When the Music Takes Me" is a song written and originally recorded by Neil Sedaka in 1972. It is a track from his Solitaire LP, as it was billed in the UK, entitled as Neil Sedaka in the U.S.
Clever Clogs is a live and video album by 10cc released in 2008.