Stewart came up with the idea for the song after his wife, to whom he had been married for eight years at that point, asked him why he did not say “I love you” more often to her. Stewart said, “I had this crazy idea in my mind that repeating those words would somehow degrade the meaning, so I told her, ‘Well, if I say every day “I love you, darling, I love you, blah, blah, blah”, it’s not gonna mean anything eventually’. That statement led me to try to figure out another way of saying it, and the result was that I chose to say ‘I’m not in love with you’, while subtly giving all the reasons throughout the song why I could never let go of this relationship.”
Released in May 1975, “I’m Not in Love” became the band’s second number-one, staying atop the UK singles chart for two weeks from 28 June. In the US, the record peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. In the UK the single was released in its full length version of over six minutes; in the US and Canada it was released in an edited 3:42 version, and with a different B-side.
“I’m Not in Love” has enjoyed lasting popularity, with over three million plays on US radio since its release, and it won three Ivor Novello Awards in 1976 for Best Pop Song, International Hit of the Year, and Most Performed British Work.
According to Kevin Godley, they originally recorded this song as a “lounge-lizard, bossa-nova thing,” which clearly didn’t work. When they revisited it, they came up with a new approach.
Godley says they spent days singing notes into a microphone, which they then turned into tape loops. These loops were loaded onto 16 different tape machines and rolled simultaneously. In the control room, each band member had four faders to bring each loop in and out of the mix on the fly, which they overdubbed onto the basic track they had built with electric piano, guitar and a Moog synthesizer set to simulate a bass drum. Said Godley: “We used Eric’s original guide vocal in the end because it just worked, and from that point onwards, everything we added or took away or changed from that point worked. There were no head-scratching moments, no arguing, no disagreements, no problems. It was like we were in a magic bubble and everything fell into place. Then we mixed it, and it was six-and-a-half minutes long – something crazy – and we realized we had done something special. We didn’t know it was a hit record or anything, but we knew it was special.”
The four members of 10cc had been on the British music scene for a while when they formed. Vocalist/guitarist Graham Gouldman was a former member of the Mockingbirds and had written hits for Jeff Beck, the Yardbirds, the Hollies and Herman’s Hermits. Singer/guitarist Eric Stewart was a former member of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, and vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Lol Creme and Kevin Godley were both highly regarded studio musicians.
Musicians:
Eric Stewart – lead vocal, electric piano
Graham Gouldman – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
Kevin Godley – Moog, backing vocals
Lol Creme – piano, backing vocals
Kathy Redfern – uncredited whisper
“I’m Not in Love” – Single by 10cc from the album The Original Soundtrack
Released May 1975
Recorded 1974–1975
Songwriters Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman
Producer 10cc
Charted No.2 in US; No.1 in UK; No.8 in West Germany; No.3 Australia; No.1 in Canada; No.1 in Ireland; No.6 in Norway
