It’s one of the most beloved love songs of the 1970s, which is kind of amazing because the title itself appears to deny the whole romance thing. On “I’m Not in Love,” 10cc accomplished that oh-so-rare feat of saying what’s often been said before in songs in a somewhat novel way.
The band also managed to do all this via a recording that, thanks to its daring and ambition, stood out among its competitors when it was released in 1975. Here is the story of “I’m Not in Love,” 10cc’s biggest global hit.
Crossing the Pond
Although the word “supergroup” wasn’t often applied to 10cc, it’s rare that a band starts out its career with such an accomplished lineup. Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme had all enjoyed various levels of success in previous musical endeavors, and they all came into the group able to produce as well as play multiple instruments.
For a while, it looked like 10cc might be one of those bands that would enjoy major success in their native Great Britain without quite breaking wide in the United States. From 1972 to 1974, the band parked in the upper regions of both the singles and albums charts in the UK, but they couldn’t really make much of a dent on the other side of the pond.
Part of the reason could have been that the band weren’t afraid to include silliness and humor in their recordings, which often worked in England more than it did in America. Love songs are universal, however, and with “I’m Not in Love,” they came up with one that utilized an utterly unique approach.
A Wall of Voices
Eric Stewart initiated the writing of “I’m Not in Love,” eventually receiving help from Graham Gouldman. As Stewart explained to The Guardian, he did it to answer the challenge of his wife Gloria:
“A few years after that, Gloria told me: ‘You don’t say “I love you” much any more.’ I told her that, if I said it all the time, it would sound glib. But I started wondering how I could say it without using those actual words. So ‘I’m not in love’ became a rhetorical conversation with myself—and then a song.”
The band wasn’t sure how to approach the musical backing until Lol Creme explained he could create a wall of voices behind the main melody using tape loops. Whereas something like that could be handled digitally today in a matter of minutes, the band had to undergo a painstaking process back then to make this happen, singing each note over and over again to create the wall.
One more special touch was the whispering voice, which belonged to the secretary at the recording studio, saying Big boys don’t cry in the middle part of the song. 10cc didn’t have much hope of commercial success for “I’m Not in Love,” considering it clocked in at over six minutes. But it made a slow build in Great Britain and eventually hit No. 1; in America, an edited version gave the band a No. 2 placement for their first big success stateside.
What is the Meaning of “I’m Not in Love”?
Although we know that Stewart meant “I’m Not in Love” as a coded message to his wife, most listening to the song would probably hear a bashful suitor going to great lengths to hide the true nature of his feelings. It’s as if he doesn’t want her to know for fear she might not feel the same way about him.
It’s just a silly phase I’m going through, Stewart protests at the beginning of the song. He wants to keep their early connection on the down-low: So if I call you, don’t make a fuss / Don’t tell your friends about the two of us. He then tries to explain away his telltale decor: I keep your picture upon the wall / It hides a nasty stain that’s lying there.
You’ll wait a long time for me, the narrator keeps reminding the girl, warning her of his reticence to put his heart on his sleeve. Listeners saw through all those denials, of course, and heard in 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” a touching song of devotion and deep feeling.
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Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
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