Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is a gracefulness to be thanked for, saluted even, when it comes to enjoying an evening in the presence of one of the finest songwriters of British Pop/Rock history; for when you are in the company of Graham Gouldman and 10cc you instinctively feel the elegance and accomplished hand of musical professionalism resound throughout the venue and reflect the light like diamonds of the faces of the sell-out crowds that give any evening its permanent vibe.
A firm favourite of the Liverpool crowd, the Philharmonic Hall has played expert hosts to the five piece band over the last decade, and as the 2020’s looms over the horizon, and the group’s 50th anniversary under the name 10cc is just a few short years away, it seems appropriate that 10cc should continue to command such authority and respect, of fun and enjoyment, with an audience that are always on top form when the sense of occasion rises.
Almost fifty years on, five decades of music, times and fashions have changed but the sound is as keen as it ever was, the pleasure of hearing songs such as Art For Art’s Sake, The Dean And I and Clockwork Creep never fades, and with Paul Burgess, Rick Fen, Keith Hayman and Iain Hornal adding their own individual flavour and accomplishments to the proceedings, you would be hard pressed to ask for more.
Opening the evening with a real delve into the past with a video that commemorated the song initially created as a one-off exercise to test drum sounds during studio time and under the pre-10cc name of Hotlegs, Neanderthal Man was the perfect intro to a band that changed the dynamic of the era they are closely associated to and served as a perfect sign of the urge to take music further than it had been previously alluded to.
With songs such as Life Is A Minestrone, Good Morning Judge, Feel The Benefit, to which many thanks were given to Graham’s mother as he revealed that she is still giving him sage advice at the grand age of 100, The Things We Do For Love, Ian Hornal’s Say The Word, the beautiful Somewhere in Hollywood, which had the added bonus of former member of the group Kevin Godley on the large screen singing the lyrics, I’m Mandy, Fly Me, Dreadlock Holiday and an exceptional Acapella version of Donna all feathering the audience’s nest and installing a sense of enormous gratitude for what the band still obviously means to all who supported them across the decades.
A marvellous evening, a craft that has become cultured and meaningful in the hands of absolute specialists.
Ian D. Hall