A landmark photography project
Photography by Hannah Flynn and Nathan Ianos
Kevin Godley was born in Prestwich, Manchester in 1945. He is known as the drummer and sometimes vocalist of the art rock band 10cc, his musical collaboration with fellow band member Lol Creme and his role as a music video director.
10cc were formed in 1972. Three of the founding members were childhood friends in the Manchester area. As boys, Godley and Creme knew each other; Gouldman and Godley attended the same secondary school. In 1973 the band released their first single ‘Donna’ a Godley/Creme composition.
10cc with Godley recorded four albums and enjoyed a string of hit singles, including two U.K No.1s, ‘Rubber Bullets’ and ‘I’m not in love’. Most of the band's music was recorded at their own Strawberry Studios in Stockport.
After leaving 10cc in 1976 the two became known as Godley & Creme, both as musicians and film directors. They were jointly nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form for: The Police: Synchronicity Concert in 1986.
10cc (Kevin Godley - front)
Both Godley and Lol Creme briefly "reunited" with their former 10cc bandmates Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman in 1992. Shortly afterwards, Godley and Creme went their separate ways.
In recent years, Kevin Godley has moved into developing a music platform for the iPad, that combines audio and video to create a global recording studio in the cloud called "WholeWorldBand".
Godley who now lives in Ireland was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts by Staffordshire University in 2018.
Since his split in the late 80s from long-time working partner Creme, Kevin Godley has forged a career directing music videos and films on his own.
Kevin Godley: Showreel
Artists Kevin has directed include:
Band Aid 2
Erasure
Bryan Adams
U2
Frank Sinatra & Bono
Paul McCartney
Sting
The Charlatans
Blur
Dave Stewart
Kate Bush
Phil Collins
The Beatles
James
Jean-Michel Jarre
Boyzone
Snow Patrol
Eric Clapton
The Black Crowes
Rod Stewart
Elbow
THE SHOOT: Liverpool, University district
Kevin had flown in from his home in Ireland to present awards at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA)
Student reflection: Hannah Flynn
“Meeting Kevin Godley, was a wonderful opportunity to create an interesting character study and learn from someone who has vast experience of being behind a camera himself. Before the shoot, we scouted for possible locations for our photography. Kevin is a man with striking features, I tried to capture his personality as candidly as possible. I am very happy with the portraits I produced, even though he’s posing slightly, it looks natural and not forced. It was a real pleasure to photograph Kevin, he was easy to talk to and direct. I sometimes struggle with directing, but his experience in the creative industry meant he was able to give me tips and encourage me to be more vocal and assertive - I grew with confidence as the shoot went on. We decided to have a black and white theme to the final images. We believe this has accentuated the detail, texture and character of Kevin's features".
