English rockers, 10cc will celebrate their 50th year in the business with a massive Australian tour that includes a show at the Civic Theatre Newcastle in June 2023.
Often referred to as one the most inventive and influential bands in the history of popular music, 10cc is one of the very few acts to have achieved commercial, critical and creative success in equal measure.
10cc leader, Graham Gouldman puts the band’s longevity of over 50 years down to the quality and individuality of the band’s songs.
“Our main strength is the songs. Hit after hit after hit. It’s relentless. We show no mercy,” Graham said.
“They don’t seem to date. We never followed any trend we simply wrote for our own pleasure. The fact that the songs are being played as often on the radio today as they ever were shows how true that is.”
And what a collection of songs it is.
I’m Not In Love, The Things We Do For Love, Rubber Bullets, Dreadlock Holiday (with its instantly recognisable chorus “I don’t like cricket – I love it!“), Donna, The Wall Street Shuffle, Art For Art’s Sake, The Dean and Me, I’m Mandy Fly Me, People In Love, Good Morning Judge and Life Is A Minestrone – Just to name a few.
These songs have not only retained a loyal following throughout the band’s career but also earned them new fans generation after generation.
“Year on year we get busier and busier. It’s great, we love touring and playing together and we get on really well. The audiences these days are very gratifying. You get the people you would expect, who grew up with 10cc, but you also get young kids who know the songs too,” Gouldman said.
“Now whether they’ve discovered 10cc for themselves, via the internet or radio, or just grown up with their parents playing it in the house, I don’t know. But we get a great mix of people from the generations.”
The current 10cc line-up features Gouldman (bass, guitar, vocals), Rick Fenn (lead guitar, bass, vocals), Paul Burgess (drums, percussion) – both of whom have been with the band since the early years – Keith Hayman (keyboards, guitars, bass, vocals) and Iain Hornal (vocals, percussion, guitar, keyboards).
10cc will bring their 50th-anniversary Greatest Hits tour to the Civic Centre Newcastle on Tuesday, 13 June 2023. Tickets are on sale Thursday 10 November from 10 am AEDT at davidroywilliams.com.
