* En anglais uniquement
British vocalists/multi-instrumentalists
Kevin Godley and
Lol Crème have one of the most eclectic resumés in rock & roll.
Godley and
Crème were session musicians when they joined
10cc in 1970. Originally called
Hotlegs,
10cc were an art pop group who frequently appeared on the U.K. charts in the early '70s, eventually hitting number two in the U.S. with 1975's "I'm Not in Love." The two departed from
10cc a year later so they could experiment with the Gizmo, a gadget that enabled the guitar to create sounds with symphonic textures. The device, which they had invented, became the inspiration for
Godley & Crème's 1977 debut triple-LP Consequences. A concept album about mankind battling a vengeful Mother Nature, Consequences was ripped to shreds and ridiculed by critics for its pretentiousness and excessive length.
The bad press and poor sales generated by Consequences nearly destroyed the duo's career. However, they kept releasing albums, and in 1981,
Godley & Crème landed on the British Top Ten with "Under Your Thumb" and "Wedding Bells." But
Godley & Crème achieved the most commercial success and critical acclaim in the '80s as video pioneers. The pair directed MTV clips for
the Police,
Duran Duran, and
Frankie Goes to Hollywood that stretched the boundaries of music video and proved that the form was capable of producing art. In 1985,
Godley & Crème had their only American smash with "Cry." Not surprisingly, it had an eye-popping video with groundbreaking special effects that showed people's faces morphing into one another.
Godley & Crème were unable to climb the heights of "Cry" again and released Goodbye Blue Sky in 1988 before leaving music behind for video production.
Crème joined
the Art of Noise in the late '90s. A collection of the duo's pre-
10cc recordings was released by Grapefruit Records on 2022's
Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley & Creme 1967-1969. ~ Michael Sutton