Graham Gouldman
b. 10 May 1945, Manchester, England. Gouldman began his recording career with the Whirlwinds, before forming the Mockingbirds with drummer Kevin Godley. One of Graham's compositions, For Your Love, was scheduled as the new group's first single, but when their label rejected it the song was passed on to the Yardbirds. Their version topped the charts and this fruitful songwriter/client relationship continued with Heart Full Of Soul and Evil Hearted You. Gouldman also penned a series of exemplary British pop hits for the Hollies (Look Through Any Window, Bus Stop), Herman's Hermits (No Milk Today), Wayne Fontana (Pamela Pamela) and Jeff Beck (Tallyman), but paradoxically the Mockingbirds failed to find a similar commercial success. The artist began a solo career with Stop Or Honey I'll Be Gone (1966), but was again unable to make an impact as a performer. An album blending versions of old and new songs, THE GRAHAM GOULDMAN THING, was only issued in the US but it served as the spur to a brief period domiciled in New York working under the auspices of producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz. He joined the late period Mindbenders where he collaborated with guitarist Eric Stewart. An unreleased album for Giorgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label brought Gouldman into contact with ex-Mockingbird Kevin Godley and talented instrumentalist Lol Creme. Their studio experiments created the hit group Hotlegs, which soon evolved into 10cc, one of the most consistent hit groups of the '70s. The seeds were thus sewn for the formation of 10cc, which grew to become one of the '70s leading pop acts. Gouldman remained a member throughout the group's history, but re-embraced outside interests at the end of the decade. He scored the cartoon film ANIMALYMPICS and later enjoyed a minor hit with Sunburn. He produced albums by the Ramones and Gilbert O'Sullivan and in 1986 formed Wax with Andrew Gold. 10cc reformed in 1991.