10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians—Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme—who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name in 1972.
For the most part, 10cc featured two strong songwriting teams, one 'commercial' and one 'artistic', but both teams injected sharp wit into lyrically dextrous and musically varied songs. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop-song-writers, who created most of the band's accessible songs. By way of contrast, Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring an Art School sensibility and cinematic inspired writing. Every member was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. Most of the band's albums were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.
Three of the founding members of 10cc were childhood friends in the Manchester area. As boys, Godley and Creme knew each other; Gouldman and Godley attended the same secondary school; their musical passion led to playing at the local Jewish Lads' Brigade.
Esau Mwamwaya is a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. He is best known for his collaboration, The Very Best with London based DJ/production duo Radioclit. His music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hiphop, pop and the traditional music of Malawi.
Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands. He played with numerous artists including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale.
In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit.
In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as 'The Very Best', releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL() in collaboration with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and the Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.
Graham Keith Gouldman (born 10 May 1946) is an English songwriter and musician who is a long-time member of British band 10cc.
Gouldman was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, England. He played in a number of Manchester bands from 1963, including The High Spots, The Crevattes, The Planets and The Whirlwinds, which became a house band at his local Jewish Lads' Brigade. The Whirlwinds – comprising Gouldman (vocals, guitar), Bernard Basso (bass), Stephen Jacobson (guitar, bongos), Malcolm Wagner, Maurice Spering and Phil Cohen – secured a recording contract with HMV, releasing a recording of the Buddy Holly song "Look At Me", backed with "Baby Not Like You", written by Lol Creme, in June 1964.
In late 1964 Gouldman dissolved The Whirlwinds and in February 1965 formed The Mockingbirds with Jacobson and Basso and a former member of fellow Manchester band The Sabres, Kevin Godley (drums). The Mockingbirds signed with the Columbia label, which rejected Gouldman’s first offering as a single – "For Your Love" (later a major hit for The Yardbirds) – and issued two singles, "That’s How (It’s Gonna Stay)" (February 1965, also issued in the US on ABC Paramount) and "I Can Feel We're Parting" (May 1965). The band switched to the Immediate label for "You Stole My Love" (October 1965) and Decca for "One By One" (July 1966) and "How to Find a Lover" (October 1966)