10cc released their worldwide hit “I’m Not In Love” in 1975 as part of their album The Original Soundtrack, which means the legendary love song is turning 50 years old this year. The English band is celebrating that anniversary in a number of ways.
A new “I’m Not In Love” 7-inch is set for release on Valentine’s Day, with The Original Soundtrack’s “Good News” on the B-side. A day before, on Feb. 13, 10cc founding members Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley will release their first new song together in nearly 20 years, “‘Don’t Want to Go to Heaven.” The duo will make an appearance in the BBC Radio 2 Piano Room that day to perform “I’m Not In Love” and “Don’t Want To Go to Heaven.”
10cc formed in Manchester in 1972, 10cc became one of the most successful and acclaimed bands of their generation. “I’m Not In Love,” which reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, has been widely recognized for its innovative production and clever lyrics. The song is sung from the perspective of a narrator in denial about how strongly he feels for the person he’s been dating: “I’m not in love, so don’t forget it/ It’s just a silly phase I’m going through.”
In a 2018 Guardian feature, 10cc’s Eric Stewart explained that the song came about when he told his wife, Gloria, that it would sound glib to repeat the phrase “I love you” all the time. Stewart and Gouldman set about finding alternate ways to express affection, landing on a highly unconventional yet effective approach.
The music didn’t come easily. “We were about to scrap it and wipe the tape but, as I walked around the studio, I heard the secretary singing it and the window-cleaner whistling it,” Stewart told The Guardian. “I knew we had a tune: we just hadn’t captured it properly. Kevin suggested doing it again, but with banks of voices. I thought that meant hiring a choir, but Lol Creme, our keyboard-player, said we could do it using tape loops.”
Per Creme, the tape loop approach was inspired by the Beatles’ “Revolution 9.” “The whole process took about a week,” he said. “It was incredibly tedious. Three or four of us had to sing every note about 14 times, then put echo on it, which gave it that luxurious, velvety harmonic sound. It was beautiful, but Eric’s vocal was what really made the song.”
Buy the 7-inch version of 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” now.
