Kevin Godley and Lol Creme might be best known as founding members of 10cc...or as a pioneering pop duo...or as directors of groundbreaking music videos for such artists as The Police, Duran Duran, Sting, and George Harrison.  But pre-fame, Godley and Creme recorded an unreleased album for impresario Giorgio Gomelsky.  Now, that album - and a clutch of related material - has finally seen the light of day from Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint as Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969.

Godley and Creme's friendship dated back to their childhood days in Manchester; they then played together in local band The Sabres.  Both attended art college and found early success doing design work for books, advertisements, and posters while also pursuing music.  In January 1968, CBS issued the duo's debut single, "Seeing Things Green" b/w "Easy Life," under the name of The Yellow Bellow Room Boom.   Godley and Creme were lending a hand in the studio to their old friend and sometime-manager Graham Gouldman when Marmalade Records head Gomelsky heard them singing.  Gomelsky was taken with Godley's falsetto and pictured him as the Art Garfunkel to Creme's Paul Simon.  The duo was then signed to Marmalade, and their composition "I'll Fly Away" appeared on the label's 1969 sampler Marmalade - 100% Proof (with Godley credited as the artist) along with "The Late Mr. Late," a song written and sung by Gouldman featuring Godley and Creme.

Gomelsky encouraged them to record an entire album, rechristening Kevin and Lol as Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon.  "I'm Beside Myself" b/w "Animal Song" emerged on 45 RPM first.  Both sides were produced by Reg-Gio-Tone, a.k.a. Reg King of The Action, and arranged by Tony Meehan of The Shadows.  The uptempo "I'm Beside Myself" was in a folk-pop vein while the ballad on the flipside was in a hauntingly delicate mode.  "I'm Beside Myself" seemed poised for success, even earning the duo an appearance on the compilation album Hit '69 alongside Cream, The Bee Gees, and The Who.

Sessions for the album took place at London's Advision Studios likely in September and early October 1969 with Graham Gouldman present and Eric Stewart on guitar, but Marmalade Records was out of money before the year was over.  Though the album was recorded, there was no budget to release or promote it.  As reconstructed for its first appearance here, the LP would have showcased the stylistic diversity of Godley and Creme's early melodic songwriting including the gutsy rocker "Cowboys and Indians" with its fantastic harmonies, and such beguiling and delicate beauties as "Chaplin House," "Fly Away," and "Take Me Back."  The presentation here also includes two Gouldman songs with Godley's lead vocals, "Hot Sun" and "Virgin Soldiers."  Later, "Hot Sun" would be adapted by 10cc into the instrumental B-side "Hot Sun Rock."

Among the six bonus tracks appended to the album are both sides of Godley and Creme's debut single for CBS; two sides of a rare acetate ("One and One Make Love" b/w "Over and Above My Head," both overtly commercial tracks with terrific brass charts); and both sides from the promotional vinyl single promoting the Blinkers nightclub in Manchester.  "Hello, Blinkers" and "Goodnight, Blinkers" are both surprisingly enjoyable tracks.

Despite the disappointment of Marmalade folding and their album being consigned to the vault, Godley and Creme bounced back quickly.  Graham Gouldman had come to the attention of New York-based bubblegum kings Kasenetz and Katz, uniting with his friends to create "Sausalito (Is the Place to Go)" to be released under the name of The Ohio Express.  It became a minor U.S. hit, and Gouldman enlisted Godley, Creme, and Stewart to keep churning out candy-sweet confections for Kasenetz-Katz at Strawberry Studios.  The trio - sans Gouldman - would record "Neanderthal Man" in early 1970 as Hotlegs.  With Graham, Hotlegs would go on to back Neil Sedaka for his 1970s comeback recordings before the foursome officially launched as 10cc.

Frabjous Days captures the roots of 10cc even before the Kasenetz-Katz sessions, and Grapefruit's release has been produced in cooperation with Godley, Creme, and Gouldman.  Compiler David Wells has penned the comprehensive liner notes in the 28-page booklet, and Simon Murphy has mastered the audio from the existing archival sources.  While the sound isn't master tape quality, it's well-restored and eminently listenable.  The Secret World of Godley and Creme is one worth spending an hour or so visiting.

Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969 (Cherry Red/Grapefruit CRSEG110, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Marmalade Sessions 1969

1. I'm Beside Myself (Album Version)
2. Chaplin House
3. Cowboys and Indians
4. It's the Best Seaside in the World
5. Fly Away (Album Version)
6. Take Me Back
7. Today
8. Hot Sun
9. Virgin Soldiers
10. The Late Mr. Late - Graham Gouldman (from Marmalade - 100% Proof, Marmalade LP 643 314, 1969)
11. To Fly Away (Marmalade Sampler Version) (from Marmalade - 100% Proof, Marmalade LP 643 314, 1969)
12. I'm Beside Myself - Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon (Single Version) (Marmalade single 598019, 1969)
13. Animal Song - Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon (Marmalade single 598019, 1969)

Bonus Tracks 1967-1969

14. Seeing Things Green - The Yellow Bellow Room Boom (CBS single 3205, 1968)
15. Easy Life - The Yellow Bellow Room Boom (CBS single 3205, 1968)
16. One and One Make Love
17. Over and Above My Head
18. Hello Blinkers (promotional single IC 1215, 1969)
19. Goodnight Blinkers (promotional single IC 1215, 1969)

All tracks except Tracks 10-15, 18-19 are previously unreleased