Strawberry Bubblegum

Many of the singles and oddities compiled on Strawberry Bubblegum have also turned up in a few other places – see the third disc, entitled Strawberry Hit Factory, of 10cc’s Before During After collection – but if you can find it, Strawberry Bubblegum is the place to go to get to grips with what happened before 10cc became the band everyone remembers for “I’m Not In Love.” These pre-10cc recordings, under names like Hotlegs, Festival, Doctor Father, Crazy Elephant, etc., make for great pop – hits that didn’t quite hit, except, maybe, for Hotlegs’ “Neanderthal Man.” Graham Gouldman was employed as a songwriter by Super K Productions, so the crossover with bubblegum royalty is there, but the folks from 10cc would probably have done this stuff anyway, given the inherent weirdness and “not-quite-right”-ness of much of their music. Such is its genius.