50 Years of collecting 10cc's 'Sheet Music'

10cc have always flown under the radar. With the exception of that period in their prime when they were scoring U.K. hit singles almost at will, the Manchester-based quartet of Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley have seldom bothered rock’s most avid chroniclers.

There are no mile long petitions for the Hall of Fame; no blink-and-you’ll miss-it Record Store Day exclusives and, despite being the subject of a myriad box sets, there has never been a serious attempt to chronicle their history in the manner they deserve.

In collecting terms, however, the band ranks among the most intriguing of all, with a near-decade long labyrinth of pre-fame releases forever finding new ways of stymying completists, and a wealth of varieties and international releases for the band itself.

High priced rarities abound throughout the catalog — in 20118, half a dozen 1969 Gouldman acetates sold for over $13,000 in separate sales on e-bay; of the full band’s own releases, a DJ promo 45 featuring excerpts from their 1973 debut album is valued around $350; a near mint pressing of their final album, Mirror Mirror went for $277 on eBay in 2022.

For the most part, however, a comprehensive 10cc collection is within reach of most vinyl enthusiasts, and the band’s second album Sheet Music — half a century old this month — is a case in point.

Released on entrepreneur Jonathan King’s U.K. label in May 1974, with U.S. distribution through London Records, it is generally regarded as their finest full-lengther. It bore one of the legendary design company Hipgnosis’s most pun-laden covers, and a well-designed lyric sheet; it introduced the world to the “gismo” — a guitar attachment that could replicate the sound of an orchestra; and it contained no less than three hit singles — “The Worst Band In The World,” “Wall Street Shuffle” and “Silly Love.”

These too are notable. All but the latter packed non-LP B-sides ("18 Carat Man of Means" and the instrumental "Gismo My Way"), while “Worst Band In The World” provoked one of the band’s greatest rarities. The LP itself was released in some 15 different countries around the world, and it has been reissued many more times since. That is more than enough for the average fan to sink their teeth into.

In terms of rarities, Sheet Music peaks with the three-track sampler EP released in the U.K. shortly before the album itself. A white label issued in a regular U.K. stock bag, it featured three tracks, and it was perhaps a little self-defeating. The A-side “Wall Street Shuffle,” after all, was already available as a regular 45 at the time, leaving just “Silly Love” and “Hotel” to lure potential listeners in. But a clean copy will set you around $100 — which, given how infrequently they appear, is a bargain.

The “Worst Band” promo is just as hard to find. Referred to by the label's "Lyric Two" designation, it is a reminder of perhaps the most absurd "ban" in British radio history. 

On the original 45, the band paired the lyric “It’s another to admit” with “We don't give a…” and left the listener to fill in the rhyme. Marking what has to be the first time a moment of silence was censored by the BBC, the corporation refused to play this version, sending the band back into the studio to fill in the gap with “we don’t give up.” Expect to pay, again, around $100.

Similar prices can attend many of the international picture sleeve singles that were released during 1974. Although British releases appeared in a simple U.K. stock bag, all three 45s were also released in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands; in addition, “Worst Band” made it out in Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore, “Wall Street Shuffle” in Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain Uruguay and the U.S.

An indication of their scarcity can be gauged by the fact that several of these, the Mexican “Silly Love” included, appear never to have been sold on either Discogs or eBay.

The album itself is equally problematic for collectors seeking specific international releases - issues from South Africa, Uruguay and Venezuela are especially sought after, and again appear so infrequently (and are pursued by so few specialists) that it is difficult to accurately value them. But Yugoslavian pressings have sold on Discogs for as little as $7, so you never know — compare that with the $50-or-so which a Japanese pressing tends to sell for.

Move into demos, of course, and far more precise valuations can be given — the $86 collected on a pink label factory test sample in on eBay in 2019, for example. Or such reissues as the Not Bad label’s 2014 180 gram yellow vinyl pressing, last sold for $50 earlier this year. Much the same price, incidentally, as a mint/sealed U.S. or U.K. 8-Track.

10 Sheet Music Rarities

$149 (signed); $95 (unsigned) - U.K. EP Extracts from 10cc’s New LP Sheet Music (2023/2022)

$120 - U.K. 12-inch “The Worst Band In The World” (1987 reissue) (2023)

$86 - U.K. LP pink label factory test sample (2019)

$70 - U.S. LP sealed with insert (2012)

$53 - Japan LP with insert, obi (2014)

$50 - U.K. LP yellow vinyl, Not Bad Records (2014 reissue) (2024)

$50 - U.S. 8-Track (2024)

$40 - U.K. 45 “Worst Band In The World” (second lyric) (2014)

$35 - U.K. promo 45 “Wall Street Shuffle” (2019)

$25 - Australia promo 45 “Worst Band In The World” (2014)

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