Godley & Creme

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 that frequently appeared on the U.K. charts in the early '70s, eventually hitting number two in the U.S. with "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, in 1981, Godley & Crème landed on the British Top Ten with "Under My Thumb." 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. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide