10cc

Out of Manchester's Strawberry Studios in the early 1970s came one of rock's most inventive and underappreciated outfits. 10cc brought together four genuinely talented multi-instrumentalists and songwriters in Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme, a combination that proved almost absurdly creative. Their sound was a clever, slightly sardonic blend of art rock, pop, and progressive elements, marked by lush studio craft, tight harmonies, and a wit that kept things from ever getting too precious. They had a knack for wrapping genuinely strange ideas inside infectious melodies.

Their peak years produced some real classics. The Original Soundtrack from 1975 contains their signature track I'm Not in Love, a breathtaking piece of layered vocal texture and studio innovation that still sounds remarkable today. Albums like Sheet Music and How Dare You showed a band pushing pop songwriting into adventurous territory without losing accessibility. When Godley and Creme departed in 1976, the band continued with some commercial success, most notably the massive international hit Dreadlock Holiday.

Culturally, 10cc occupy a fascinating space. They're too clever for mainstream nostalgia and too melodic to be filed strictly under art rock, which means they sometimes get overlooked. But any serious fan of 70s British rock owes it to themselves to dig into that mid-period catalog. The craftsmanship is extraordinary.