The Consequences Podcast

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 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

Consequences 10cc podcast 24 - Kevin Godley on Consequences

Welcome to the first of Paul and Sean's four conversations with Kevin Godley, recorded in Dublin on October 8th.  

Here Kevin discusses Consequences.  We're pretty sure that you'll find this an absolute revelation, as we did.  He shares many memories and thoughts that we'd never heard before.  And forget any notions that Kevin has anything less than love and admiration for this project!

Next week, we'll be discussing with him his and Lol's early material, numerous Strawberry Studios projects, Hotlegs and of course 10cc.  The other chats cover all of Godley and Creme's albums, music video projects, and his more recent work, including the stunning and hard-hitting new album to be released in 2020.

The podcast will launch its subscription content next week, and there'll be some 'outtakes' material from these interviews available to our paid subscribers, along with some lovely exclusive content.  Thanks in advance folks!

Consequences 10cc podcast 23 - Interview with Harvey Lisberg (long-time manager of 10cc)

Paul and Sean are joined by the charming, hugely entertaining and irrepressible 10cc manager Harvey Lisberg, who has worked with Graham Gouldman since his Whirlwinds days in the early 1960s. His first major breakthrough came when he broke Herman's Hermits in the States, with enormous success.

Through his long and successful career, Harvey has managed a huge number of musicians, bands and sports personalities, including Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Wax, Sad Cafe, Gordon Giltrap, Fred Bickering, Gary Owen, snooker legend Jimmy White, and a currently emerging artist Oneda, among others.

Harvey has an instinct for what makes pop music tick.  He has a super-sharp instinct for spotting a hit, and he recounts fascinating stories about just that.  He entertains us with the tale of his dogged and audacious determination to place one of Graham's first songs with The Beatles!  

He covers a dizzying amount of ground in this interview, taking us through his many funny and fascinating experiences of Consequences and Peter Cook, The Mockingbirds, and the exciting early Strawberry years. He also talks extensively about 10cc, Wax, the relationships between Eric and Graham, Lol and Kevin, and the parlous state of the record industry in 2019.  

So this is a fantastic whistle-stop tour of 10cc's entire universe. Entertaining and essential stuff - thank you Harvey!

Consequences 10cc podcast 22 - I'm Beside Myself: Godley & Creme (1964 - 1972)

• Welcome back ladies and gents to the podcast after our long lay-off!  As some of you will know, there are several big reasons for this: day jobs, Abbey Road gig rehearsals, getting our heads around user-friendly solutions to our funding issues, and, oh yes, our latest interviews...  A great meeting in Stockport with Strawberry founder Pete Tattersall and archivist Peter Wadsworth, followed by an incredible trip to Dublin where we had the honour of six hours in the company of Kevin Godley!  The results of those meetings will be with you as soon as we can possibly get them finished and signed off.  It'll be worth the wait, we promise you!

This episode sees Paul and Sean getting their teeth into the fascinating world of early Godley and Creme, from Lol's first writing credit on a Whirlwinds single to their wonderful single 'Today', released under the name Festival in 1972.  In between, we explore some of the wonderful curios recorded by the duo at Strawberry, Advision and Graham's house.  The earliest are three tracks you may not know: The Best Seaside in the World, Cowboys and Indians, and Chaplin House.  They're a real treat.

We of course give Yellow Bellow Boom Room and Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon a good going over, as well as other Strawberry Bubblegum sessions.  The real focus though is the odd, erratic but captivating Hotlegs album, in both its guises.  There's some wonderful music here!

Consequences 10cc podcast 21 - L & Freeze Frame (1978-9)

Sean and Paul look at Godley and Creme's ground-breaking second and third albums in this week's podcast. This is great news for Mr Macreavy, as he's a bit of a 'Kev and Lol-ist'. Paul's more reticent about many of the songs because, as he correctly points out, with chords and melody often in short supply, some of these tunes are difficult!

We rave about the stone-wall brilliance of these albums' opening tracks, This Sporting Life and An Englishman in New York.  Have any of the 10cc boys bettered these since?  We don't think so...  There are many other superb moments that we dissect, such as the beauty of Art School Canteen and Get Well Soon, the wacky fun of Sandwiches of You and the fascinating lyrics of Punchbag, Freeze Frame and Group Life.  Sean gets very excited about the 'spreadsheet' lyrics for this one!  We marvel as well at so much of the musical invention and creative brilliance on offer here.  Gizmos rub shoulders with harmonisers, saxes and the usual huge array of unusual instruments.  This is Lol and Kevin really getting Consequences out of their system, with their own inimitable take on 'getting back to basics'.  In their case, that is a very different and unique vision of 'basics' indeed! It's hard to believe that these were recorded in the same room as 'Outlandos d'Amour'.  We marvel at I Pity Inanimate Objects, but even though it was twenty years ahead of its time, we confess to being annoyed to death by it!

L is an exhausting listen: dense, wild, hard-hitting, even lacerating in places.  Lol says he finds it impossible to listen to!  We can totally understand why. This episode is not for the faint-hearted...

Oh, and where's Paul McCartney?

Consequences 10cc podcast 20 - Consequences re-issue review (2019)

Sean and Paul thought we'd try something a bit different this week.  

To mark the re-release of Consequences on August 9th, we've invited some new friends to contribute to this episode.  Our fellow members of the Godley and Creme Facebook group give some fascinating thoughts and opinions on this momentous release, commenting on the beautiful package, the sound, booklet and liner notes, Kev and Lol's interviews, track sequencing and their own personal relationships with this wonderful album.

Paul's been scouring the music press for reviews, and may even buy his own copy at some stage...!  We also have a chuckle reliving the somewhat chaotic but fun 'listening party' we hosted via Facebook, with more insightful and hilarious quotes from fellow aficionados of the record.  Sean 'Dog Ears' Macreavy also gets typically hot under the collar over the songwriting credits and Andy Pierce's remastering of the discs!

With huge thanks to Michael Ferreri, Evan Hammond, Marc Hollis, Karen Piercey, Andrew Dalgarno, Panayiotis Bogdanos, Phillip Wood, Steve Dinsdale and our other friends from the Godley and Creme group.

That's Cuban singer Camila Cabello at the start, with a song from her 2018 debut album.

Consequences 10cc podcast 19 - Deceptive Tourists (1977-78)

Sean and Paul grapple with a subject that begins to become increasingly thorny for Mr Macreavy: 10cc Mk II.

While agreeing completely on the joyous pop genius of The Things We Do for Love, the frantic fun of Honeymoon with B Troop, the beauty of For You and I and the hooky credentials of Dreadlock Holiday, we start to diverge on some of the other album tracks, particularly on side 2 of Eric and Graham's second 10cc album, Bloody Tourists.  Paul's a big fan of that album, but Sean just doesn't get it.  Maybe it's just the morning after having expended all of his energy on his beloved How Dare You the night before?!

We also cover some aspects of Live and Let Live, the new band's proficient but 'statement' live album.  There's much praise for the musicianship of this re-modelled 10cc, but perhaps we're missing Kev and Lol too much to give our hearts fully to them?

There is however a real undiscovered treat here for all 10cc fans.  Peter Wadsworth and the Strawberry Archives have kindly sent us a lovely 30-second advert jingle that Eric and Graham recorded for Dr Pepper in the States in late 1977.  It really brought a well-needed smile to Sean's face!