Consequences 10cc podcast 32 - The Graham Gouldman Thing (1968)

Paul and Sean get their teeth into Graham Gouldman's brilliant 1968 debut album.

We cover all the tracks, giving detailed critique of music, arrangements and lyrics. We of course discuss the importance of Graham's father Hymie to his early songwriting, and wonder if his influence was even greater than he has stated?  No matter; the songs are great. Personal, poignant and perceptive.

Special attention is paid to Graham's wonderful interpretation of his mega-hit for The Hollies, Bus Stop, and to one of Paul's favourite songs of all time: Behind the Door. Sean's a big fan too, but there's much critique of Graham as a solo singer, alongside huge admiration for his maturity as a songwriter and his genius with (occasionally very many!) chords.

This is a great record, which stands together brilliantly as a collection of some of Graham's best 1960s material.

Consequences 10cc podcast 31 - Bargains Unlimited: Graham Gouldman in the 1960s pt.1

Paul and Sean give Graham Gouldman's prolific songwriting of the 1960s our trademark 'forensic' going-over in these next two episodes.

We look in detail at many of Graham's most famous and successful songs, including his big hits for Herman's Hermits, the Hollies and the Yardbirds. We also criticise and admire many of the near-misses and simply forgotten gems in his huge songwriting canon, with his own recordings with the Whirlwinds and Mockingbirds, and songs covered by Wayne Fontana, Cher, Friday Brown and Toni Basil, Dave Berry and many others.  We've dug deep to bring you some songs that only exist as acetate demos!

Paul's guitar makes its pod debut, as he takes us through some of Graham's wonderful chord progressions, and even examines a possible influence from Jewish religious music.

Next week, we focus our attention on Graham's brilliant debut album, 'The Graham Gouldman Thing', and touch on the massive lyrical influence of his father Hymie.

Consequences 10cc podcast 30 - Interview with Strawberry Studios’ Pete Tattersall, pt.2

Here's part two of Sean and Paul's conversation with Strawberry founder Pete Tattersall in the old studio building.

We discuss the enormous success of Pete's brainchild, 'There's No-one Quite Like Grandma' by St Winifred's School Choir, which was one of Strawberry's few number one singles. His stories on this are really fascinating, and paint a wonderful picture of the record industry's 'good old days'!

Pete recalls in detail some of his favourite sessions, including the McGear album (with an early incarnation of Paul McCartney's Wings band) and Liverpool Lou, featuring the Gizmo.  We loved geeking out over his explanations of more studio techniques and beautiful accidents, such as micing and mixing, and Strawberry's ground-breaking reverb and guitar sounds. 

We also hear more about 10cc, Joy Division, Ramases and Linda McCartney's musical and culinary prowess, among many others, plus amazing tales of celebrity recording artists and unexpected superstar studio guests, many of whom used the studio to record TV-ready re-recordings of their hits.  Finally, Pete sheds more light on Strawberry's demise, and a deal that could have saved the studio...

Hope you've enjoyed our interviews so far.  Hopefully, some amazing guests to come soon!  Tune in next time for Paul and Sean's debate and analysis of Graham Gouldman's key 1960s songs.

Consequences 10cc podcast 29 - Interview with Strawberry Studios’ Pete Tattersall, pt.1

Welcome to the first part of our conversation with Strawberry founder Pete Tattersall, recorded in the old studio building on Waterloo Road in Stockport.  

Pete is an engaging, amusing and modest man, and regales us with so many stories about how Strawberry came into being. Leaving behind his (often dangerous!) gig playing career, he set up Intercity Studios in Stockport, but soon joined forces with Eric Stewart to found the new studio.  It's fascinating to hear how Strawberry began as a relatively humble set-up, but quickly grew thanks to re-investment after the successes of Neanderthal Man and the first 10cc hits. What they built at the time was the first, and only, studio outside London that could rival facilities in the capital. He gives us some interesting insights into how he and Eric captured such top-quality and ground-breaking recordings with a huge range of artists, from the Syd Lawrence Orchestra and Barclay James Harvest to Neil Sedaka, and he tells us what it was like to see 10cc develop right in front of his eyes.

Other lovely treats here include Pete's memories of Consequences, including the infamous Fireworks location recording, Kevin  and Lol's best practical jokes, working with Brian Epstein, rigging up a drum booth with tin baking foil for Neanderthal Man, recording the Hotlegs LP, the inevitable slew of football songs, and 10cc's recording of harmonies, as well as sessions including I'm Not in Love.

The equally interesting part two of our chat with Pete will be published next week.

Consequences 10cc subscribers’ podcast 2 - An inside track from Paul and Sean

Hello gentle subscribers!

Here's a bonus podcast where Sean and Paul do a round-up of our antics over the last months, with a few unpublished thoughts and stories, as well as talking about our plans and hopes for the podcast in the new year.  

We cover a whole range of topics, including lots of observations, anecdotes and surprises from our meeting with Kevin Godley.  We talk about our other wonderful guests too: Pete Tattersall, Ken Maliphant, Harvey Lisberg and Peter Wadsworth.  There are a few details of some of the 'goodies' we're stashing away in our shared Google drive folders that you should all now have access to.  We ponder over Consequences' second commercial failure, and talk about our plans for next year.  Of the ones we can divulge at this stage, we'll be collaborating with some of you fine people on some imminent podcasts on 10cc Mk II's and Godley and Creme's 80s and 90s output; we're keeping our fingers crossed on meeting some more of the 10cc chaps next year; and also to meet some of you in some kind of live event...  We just need your ideas!

Hope you find this entertaining, and have a lovely Christmas!

Sean and Paul

Consequences 10cc podcast 28 - Kevin Godley on Muscle Memory, the 90s and now

Welcome to the fourth and final part of Paul and Sean's conversation with Kevin Godley in Dublin. We guarantee that most or all of what you hear in this episode will be as new to your ears as it was to ours!

Kevin talks in depth about the conception, writing and recording of his imminent new album, Muscle Memory. His explanation of the lyrical inspiration for these new songs is blisteringly honest and edgy, and perhaps this is the reason why this is Sean's favourite part of the whole interview with Kevin.  We also discuss some of his lesser known but ground-breaking 1990s projects, such as Ark Trust's Mother Earth and One World One Voice.  Finally, we hear about some much more recent music videos and some fascinating insights into his current and future creative projects, including a feature film about the last days of Orson Welles' life.

Yes, we knew very little about this stuff either!  You'll learn a lot, as we did.  

In our next episode, we'll be travelling back to Stockport for an incredibly interesting chat with Strawberry's founder and recording engineer Pete Tattersall, who regales us with a huge number of memories and anecdotes from his work with Eric and the boys.

Please don't forget that we have a veritable treasure trove of rare 10cc and G&C audio, reviews and documentation available for our paid subscribers.  A single annual payment of $25 will unlock all of this content, as well as occasional exclusive podcasts, such as a film of our visit to Strawberry Studios with Peter Wadsworth.  Thanks in advance!  Here's the link, and a list of our bonus content so far:

https://www.podbean.com/premium-signup/qiegf-220cbb/The+Consequences+10cc+podcast*

* video files of Kevin Godley film projects, including Son of Man, Katie Melua's documentary on the making of 9000 Bicycles, Ark Trust's 'Mother Earth' and the 'One World One Voice' project.

* an amazing 'shopping list' handwritten by John Lennon, with a 10cc-related item that will make your jaws drop!
* radio spots from BBC Radio 1's 'Personal Call' interview and phone in with Godley and Creme; BBC 6 Music's fantastic 'Record Producers' episode on 10cc; and Justin Hayward's 'Well Above Average' episode on 10cc
* full audio from the complete King Biscuit Hour 1975 concert and an early 1976 gig from the How Dare You tour
* fascinating music press reviews and interviews of the L album
* three high-quality mixes of the notorious 'Voodoo Boogie' sessions for People in Love
* Harvey Lisberg's copies of hundreds of Strawberry Studios tape and track sheets, early Godley and Creme demos, Strawberry rarities and more!

Consequences 10cc podcast 27 - Kevin Godley on Godley & Creme and music videos

This is not to be missed if you're a fan of Kevin and Lol's incredibly eclectic and often brilliant post-Consequences work!

Kevin gives us his usual fascinating, brutally honest and sometimes hilarious insights into so many aspects of Godley and Creme's 'Body of Work'.  We delve into all of their post-1977 albums : L, Freeze Frame, Ismism, Birds of Prey, History Mix (including Cry) and Goodbye Blue Sky.

We also discuss what made Kevin and Lol tick as music video directors, with some wonderful examples.

We hope you're enjoying these conversations nearly as much as Sean and Paul did!

Consequences 10cc podcast 26 - Kevin Godley on the early years and 10cc

Sean and Paul continue their long chat with Kevin Godley in Dublin.

This time, we chew the fat over some of Kevin and Lol's early songs, Strawberry Studios and Hotlegs projects, and of course 10cc. We hear some fascinating stories and memories, and learn so much.  We're pretty sure that you'll enjoy this as much as we did!

Tune in next week for Kevin's thoughts on his post-Consequences exploits with Lol Creme.

Don't forget that our new, exclusive 'bonus' content is now available to our paid subscribers.  It can be accessed via this link - thanks in advance!  https://www.podbean.com/premium-signup/qiegf-220cbb/The+Consequences+10cc+podcast

Consequences 10cc subscribers’ podcast 1 - Start unlocking your bonus content!

Thanks so much for subscribing to our podcast!

This is not an audio podcast; it's simply a way of letting you know in a secure way how you can access our bonus content.  Simply download the PDF file and copy and paste the links into your internet browser.  PLEASE DON'T SHARE THE PDF - it's our way of thanking YOU personally.

Enjoy!  Best wishes,

Sean and Paul

Subscribe to premium content now

Consequences 10cc podcast 25 - Our funding decision

Over to Paul to explain...  Thanks all for considering our funding requests, and for your gratefully received feedback. The results are in, and we’ve decided to mash the two most popular responses together. So we will be going with an annual subscription that (works like) a voluntary donation. Don’t worry, I’ll attempt to explain this – and show how it chimes with the way that most podcasts actually operate.

So… we will set up an annual subscription service. For this the subscriber will get all the normal podcast episodes, PLUS a few bonus mini-episodes and some extra goodies that we will deliver through our podcasting platform. However, all of the core content INCLUDING THE REALLY EXCITING STUFF TO COME, will REMAIN FREE. That is why, in all but name, the SUBSCRIPTION is in effect a DONATION.

We will (inevitably I suppose) be following the business model of almost all emerging podcasts. That is, we don’t want to ‘cut the blood supply’ from the pod by making it ‘exclusive’ and from deterring potential future listeners by limiting the content. (Certainly, if I was searching for a subject and came across something I was looking for, but had to pay for, I’d just move on).

I wanted to be upfront about this so that no one is surprised when they discover ’hang on I’ve paid for the podcast but apart from some extra goodies, it’s all free anyway…’. Well that’s exactly what it WILL be like.  We are to rely on the goodwill of listeners that we have accrued so far – and hopefully those that we bring on board in the future.

(Oh, and by the way, we eschewed the ‘advertising’ route, because we can’t stand to hear podcasts that we are really into being interrupted by adverts…)

Now, so that you don’t have to flail away like Kate Bush in her breakthrough performance of Wuthering Heights, we will set a yearly subscription fee – and that is $25 (just under 20 pounds). As long as you submit that amount then you will get access to EVERYTHING that we produce between now and November 2020, when we will review the whole shebang. But YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING. And if you don’t - to reiterate - you’ll still be able to listen to all the existing and new episodes – including the REALLY GOOD ones that are coming up. The subscribers will get a few extra bits and bobs as we’ve said.

Does that sound fair chaps?  Our first subscribers-only podcast is already available on our Podbean page. Just click on the 'Subscribe to Premium content now' or follow this link:

https://www.podbean.com/premium-signup/qiegf-220cbb/The+Consequences+10cc+podcast

We hope you enjoy it!  Thanks so much in advance,

Paul and Sean