UNE NUIT A PARIS (One Night In Paris) 1975 by 10cc

[veda1954]

Love the Gershwin ending to this.

[veda1954]

Only worth a Centime. Ah those were the days, before the Euro f***ed everything up!

[cockneybarrowboy]

I'll take it!

[MBC1955]

At the time I remember Godley and Creme saying in interviews that as originally written this was 20 minutes long and they cut it back. I'd have loved to hear the original version. As for 'inspiring' Bohemian Rhapsody, the timing would fit: this was about six months earlier.

[veda1954]

@MBC1955 Maybe it didn't inspire the actual writing of BoRhap, but it certainly gave Queen the confidence to go and do it. I just love the fact that the debate continues, and Queen fans get just a little tetchy on the subject.

[futhamucka]

I personally think you should check out some zappa, if that is your bag

[AMANDACARMAN]

You did a fantastic job on the visual portion; I love 10cc; thanks so much for posting, as this song has been in my head for months; I just love the hilarious stereotypical French-accented lyrics.

[cjwynes]

This is similar to the direction they were going with "Somewhere in Hollywood" on the previous record.

[ColorfulHyena]

this sounds very strange..

[brido2000]

This song is like a musical crammed into eight minutes, surprised no one has ever made it into a west end show.The imagery it conjures up is magical.Still listen to it all the time.

[TabaquiJackal906]

Oh, I just love this song. It would amazing to see a full-blown 'movie' done to this, all period costumes and tons of dancers.....

Thanks for putting this up!

[ohmygosh77777]

For a long time I had mixed feelings about this, but as time has mellowed me I realise that this is a masterpiece of songwriting. 10cc were four highly talented individuals although I favour the godley/creme songwriting team. In fairness, the skills of Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart have also produced exceptional songs too.

[dodsie9]

This is TRULY JUST SOOOOOO WONDERFUL!! I was lucky enough to see the band LIVE in Boston Mass. on their very first U.S. tour.It was great.I recsll the warm up band had a VERY DRUNK lead singer and we all couldn't wait for him and his poor mates to leave snd LET THE RUBBER BULLETTS FLY !!! OH FOR THE REAL GOOD OLD DAYS !!THANKS LOL KEVIN & THE ENTIRE CREW1972,3,4 somewhere there I still live!1Love you much<George Kimball Mason

[cosmicrider287]

classic 10cc!

[garyteasing]

i think i like the creme/godley songs the most. that is if they also did "life is a minestrone" as well. fucking love that one.

[peregrinestudio]

does anyone know if there is a live version of this online or dvd etc? superb track

[Misty33Blue]

@peregrinestudio They did a live version at Santa Monica. Google 10cc King Biscuit Flower hour Wolfgang's Vault. Its great.

[LilChummmmmm]

first time i ever heard this track was, strangely enough the evening before Princess Diana Died. How uncanny. 10 hours later she was dead...in Paris. premonition maybe? But then the day after I listened to the track again and the lyrics could have fitted

[Zooney1]

First heard this astonishingly creative pastiche masterpiece when 10cc played Leicester Demontfort hall in 1976. This was the first band I had ever heard in concert. They were utterly brilliant and very loud. I remember an enormous bank of Marshall amps at the back of the stage. Ears were hissing for a long time after the concert. They were a unique band of individually incredibly talented musicians/singers/songwriters bursting with creativity though strangely widely overlooked now.

[Foxybillie]

So I haven't ever seen this clip but remember this brilliant piece from the 70's; makes me realise what kind a girl I was then, and what kinda music we had dished up.....so lucky..... and it's true, one night in Paris IS like year in any other place... I know that now.... 10cc so amazing.

[jc333jc]

I saw them live in Glasgow in 1975/6 when the concert was abandoned only a few songs in, due to a sore throat. If I remember correctly Chas and Dave were the supporting band.

They came back and were brilliant. Chas & Dave too ...:-)

[jc333jc]

After all these years I can still remember all of the lyrics.

Great track.

[HappyAitch]

@jc333jc Me too, I could never work out what it was about but really loved it when I was kid

[duckgeezer]

OMG,,,,,,I haven't heard this for 30 years.

Brilliant!!!!!!

[patagoniensis]

Nostalgie....

[veda1954]

There is no doubt in my mind that 10cc were a huge influence on Queen. Not just this "operata", check out the original video of "I'm Mandy" and see where they got the idea for the BoRap video. Even Kieth, my mate who is a big Queen fan, had to admit it.

[ronfinefleur]

@veda1954 I was driving in my car with a 30 year old colleque. On my CD player there was One Night in Paris from 10cc. During our chat she said "I know almost all Queen songs since my dad is a hudge Queen fan, but this Queen song i never heard, she said)". I am 100% sure that Queen loved the 10cc sound. I asked both Eric and Graham. Eric met Freddie several times and said they didn't use it for Bohreps. Graham said. Listen yourself! Even your friend can't admit it.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 You do know Queen existed before ANATO album and borhap? Queen sounded like this way back in sheer heart attack and even before that, but just not as an opera. BoRhap sounds nothing like this in both structure or style. so id say Queen influenced 10cc just as much if not more, seeing as 10cc were playing 12bar blues and rockabilly just a few years before this album, whilst Queen already achieved this sound.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove Thanks for your informed views. I admit that my comparison of the I'm Mandy video with that of Bohemian Rhapsody was misplaced (I'd had a drink or two and I can quote at least one web site that put the 10cc song earlier than Queen), but to claim that 10cc were a 12 bar blues Rockabilly band is, to put it bluntly ludicrous. They were all well established musos and creatively the best group since the Beatles well before Queen put anything on vinyl.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 yes but there sound was nothing like what Queen produced, it was more geered towards 12 bar blues and rockabilly. so the sound that you hear from 10cc on this record is actually what Queen were doing in their previous albums. "creatively the best group"...that's your opinion and by no means a generally accepted one.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 yea and i also looked at the im mandy video and there is nothing there that looks like BoRhap video. but that doesnt even matter since the song came out months AFTER BoRhap.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove See above.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove Just to add more meat to the discussion, Graham Gouldman was writing songs for The Yardbirds, Hermans Hermits and The Hollies in the early 60's. Eric Stewart owned Strawberry Studios and was producing songs for Neil Sedaka... The list goes on. These were talented, well honed songwriters and musicians well before they eventually performed as 10cc, so please don't insult their memory.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 haha I never said they were untalented, youre jumping to conclusions. i just wont accept that Queen were influenced by them any more than 10cc were influenced by Queen. The members of Queen were also musically active in the 60s as well, so fucking what? So, in sorts, please don't insult their memory either.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove Whoa there, don't become a troll. I'm not knocking Queen. They became one of the greatest rock bands of all time. But don't be so precious about them. Every band has been influenced by somebody. Even Led Zep and The Beatles. It just so happens that this bit of Youtube is dedicated to 10cc, and not Queen. Not everyone is a Queen fan, live with it.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 Well seeing as some 10cc fans are making the idiotic links to BoRhap and even Queen by certain ones, it's quite relevant to bring up Queen dont ya think? Besides, being precious about Queen is fairly understandable, more so than being precious about boring old 10cc.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove Look, just to close this off, why are you drawn to this song? You either like it (maybe because you're a Queen fan - and if so who can blame you?) or you've been told by other Queenies that we're dissing your fave band. Whatever it is, what you or I say won't change a thing. The debate will go on. Vive la differance.

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 I've never heard of the term Queenie, maybe that's the effect of living under a rock as is whith most 10cc fans. As i said, i read somewhere that this song influenced BoRhap and, after listening to it, yes, they have an operatic bits in the. But its still chalk and cheese, BoRhap wasnt constructed to be an operetta. its basically three unfinished songs/dead-end ideas glued together. by the way, no one was dissing Queen, until i read your comments. so im dissing 10cc, it's quite easy.

[veda1954]

@shariotoflove Grow up!

[shariotoflove]

@veda1954 bye now.

[ataaah]

Like Octospider, I bought this album for "I'm Not In Love". I was 14 when it was released. Almost as much an eye-opener as The Yes Album or Dark Side of the Moon or A Night at the Opera. I think this song might have been influenced by Brecht's 3-Penny Opera, and possibly the film of Cabaret.

Very impressed with the juxtaposition of Norma Shearer and Steve Martin. :-D A great video!

[Octospidr]

Many, many thanks. I bought this album because of 'I'm Not In Love' and, without exception, every other song on the album thoroughly trounced the single.

[onebluenine]

Brilliant! I've always loved this song. I have it on vinyl, buried in the garage beneath my tiny flat, but it's not among the 10cc hits from various greatest hits/box set things on my subscription service, (US based) Rhapsody.

Thank you for the loving image montage you've created to go along with it. I'm glad the copyright holders elected to get a little revenue from it instead of yanking it.

[serenityjohn55]

great video and wonderful tribute to a great song

[mindyspark]

I haven't heard this in forever. Thanks so much for posting this song and the video is awesome.

[akashaman]

killer video tribute to a great band/song ! thanks so much ~~

[peterperry268]

Lol's brother is a good old-fashioned Jewish Tailor in Manchester.

Makes superb schmotter!!! lol (LOL) get it?

[popomatic1970]

I too question the idea that this was an influence on Freddie Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody". I would instead suggest that both Queen and 10cc had similar influences in creating the respective "operettas". I became aware of this song only recently - 10cc certainly created some wonderful tunes that are not easy to categorize. It's brilliant.

[edmame]

@popomatic1970 Bo Rhap was sort of Mercury's "Great American Novel" deal, that he began during art college in late 60s (known as "Cowboy Song" then.) It has more in similarity with early tunes My Fairy King, March of Black Queen, In Lap of Gods Revisited than 10cc's opus (other than general concepts of harmony, multi-movement, classical influence all "art rock" drew from, etc) which sounds more silent film inspired than FM's densely veiled private fantasy/cheeky personal trauma allegories.

[edmame]

@popomatic1970 Adding another Bo. Rhapsody precursor: Fairy Feller's Master-stroke which is inspired by a Dadd painting. Basically Bo Rhap is a distillation of far more complex, chock full of ideas Queen songs circa '71-4 (that didn't sell so well because they were dense & manic.)

[ronfinefleur]

@popomatic1970 an interview Freddy said he loved the multi-tracking voices sound. He defintely listened to the multitracking techniques from 10cc which they did on original soundtrack almost a year before Queens succes album. 10cc was the first with a technique and sound which for that time was ingenious. 10cc is far out more intelligent music as all britisch press wrote during that time. But indeed Queen made some real nice music! We miss bands like 10cc and Queen these days!

[dreamcommander1]

ah, just brilliant!

Thanks!

dreamcommander1

[cytryna90]

warum nich doych

[cytryna90]

das ist god

[AlmaQueen]

who is the girl in the minut 1.29 ??? please rsvp

[wilsonmcphert]

@AlmaQueen

Same question is answered a few questions down. It is Norma Shearer, actress.

[AlmaQueen]

@wilsonmcphert thank you very much :))

[katiefreaksout]

one night in paris is like a year in any other place......

[petriec2]

I love this song....first heard it when I was 12, 1986...loved it ever since,,,much to the amusement of my friends who just dont get it....then again they dont get Jeff Waynes, War of The Worlds....so more fool them....and they think I listen to crap music..............

[Thbenjaminsson]

Believe it or not, but I actually visited Paris in July 1976, only a year after that "The Original Soundtrack" was released (1975), with my Father & his new girlfriend - my Dad celebrated his 50 years Birthday & really wanned to "get away" all the fuzz at home & have a Birthday in a very romantic sort of City a long long way from home. It was fun but a strict French Gendarm with that typical cylindric police-cap got mad & told us we couldn't park our car underneath the Eiffel Tower! - Tobbe -

[Bumbumawangis]

This song is vicious,the vocals are exceptional,they were hard to categorize but anglotechnoprogressivevaudvill­econceptpoprock will do.

[klaritavital]

lindo, maravilhosooooo !

[tedpas]

The album with this song did not sell very well and when I came across it in 1976 it was in a $1 mark-down bin. I picked it up and saw that it was 10cc so I thought I'd have to have it. Every song on the album was like a lyrical journey, but this especially was a beautiful sound-scape that was best enjoyed after sunset and before turning on the lights. It truly allowed the mind to create the 'video' to accompany it...... Thanks for sharing and reminding me.

[Chris51]

@tedpas - I bought this donkeys years ago and just loved the song craft, musicianship and humour. A brilliant band. They came to Australia in the 80's, we went to watch them but instead of the 10pm start they came on about 2am My girlfriend got sick before they started so I took her outside and then the band started but they wouldn't let me back in. Even today I'm still ticked off.

[lesternightflyable]

One Night in Paris.  The Origional Soundtrack. Their

[sockslovesongs]

This is making me miss my old 8-track player which I had in high school because I used to listen to this tape until it had played 8 times over without getting up from my book....love it!!!

[Moosestaffa]

Wonderful. Fantastic flashback to the Seventies. One girl in paris is like loving every woman; so true!



[amoom0]

One of my favorites when it came out so long ago. Such a rich song that always evoked many mental images for me. I haven't heard this in over 25 years... many thanks for posting.

[JakobusVdL]

Thanks for posting Wilson. I'd forgotten just how great this song is - I'll have to dig the album out and listen to the whole thing, The music of this line up of 10cc was so innovative

[SvendKleh]

THE BEST EVER !!! I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH !

[ulvers1]

A classic musical masterpiece!

[catchersmitt0]

Greater and lesser artists have always drawn inspiration from lesser and greater artists.

[WoodRatGirl]

Such a masterpiece of a song.

[chiefchokaho]

This is the best song I've heard this year. What happened to songs like this? Musicians have gotten lazy.

[VenusGrnys]

thans for the post.....love this tune!!!!!

[klaritavital]

no show about?

[casagrandetrold]

what a beautifull collage

[dodsie9]

Queen & 10cc two very different troupes.BUT BOTH WERE WEONDERFUL OH WHERE DID THE FUN GO ???

[daddyreddog]

I can't believe people have forgotten this, pure genius. :D

[Rayneenights]

If you like 10cc and Queen you might also appreciate Birmingham-band City Boy, one of the most underestimated bands out of the 70's. You can find songs such as the Day The Earth Caught Fire, Walk On The Water and others on YouTube.

[Topographer]

Prefer 10cc and especially Godley&Creme to Queen every day.

Pure Genious.

Listen to the album 'L' by G&C for more marvellous music and lyrics!!

[DeliciousManager]

@Topographer Not just 'L', surely. All the albums have moments of genius (Consequences, Freeze Frame, ISMISM, Birds of Prey, History Mix, Goodbye Blue Sky). Masterpieces underrated by those who didn't understand them.

[Sootytailpipes]

Great vide to an oustanding song.

Thank you

Ian - North Wales

[cosmicrider287]

outstanding job on the video and of course impeccable track.

[Hilkka52]

Oh lordy lordy, good work with the video! :o . 30 years later and and still remember the lyrics of this song!

[xxsherriebabyxx]

love this song always have, always will. Jools57

[MrJoseppie123]

Brings back loads of good memories, when there were so many great bands, not like today. I've got The Original Soundtrack, which is in mint condition & i'm so glad i kept it.

[Rayneenights]

You made a cool video of the song!

[wilsonmcphert]

Thanks a lot. It was probably one of the most challenging videos I have made and glad you like it.

[dbfleur]

@wilsonmcphert

I had never asked Graham if he saw this challenging video. I know that Kevin loved the "I wanna rule the world" upload and gave his comment on it. These old 10cc members needs to sit together again and start making a brilliant new album. Will it even happen?

[CleanerOfDemons]

@Rayneenights God this takes me back. Lent my LP out an never got it back, gotta get it back.

[DeliciousManager]

@CleanerOfDemons That's the lesson - NEVER lend-out your LPs and CDs (I never do).

[VenusGrnys]

@CleanerOfDemons I hear ya! I got all my vinyl ripped off in '87......grrrrrrrrr. Still haven't recouped it all.

[annabanana12369]

Quel suprise! J'aime cette chanson! :)

[j355icadog]

i love every thing that 10cc have done but this is one of the best, check out !flat by the sea!, also one hell of a song,

[dhloup1]

One word: GREAT!!!!!

[harfarhs]

Great stuff, thanks for posting.. of course not everything they had done before this was traditional three-minute pop, but agreed, this was their first venture into the 'operatic' mode..

[tracheoboy]

This song is supposed to have been influential on Queen for Bohemian Rhapsody.

[wilsonmcphert]

@tracheoboy

I made reference to this in 'more info' although I could not find any unambiguous proof to support it.

[mmiddelkoop]

@wilsonmcphert

I asked Graham personally 2009 (Eindhoven gig) and Eric by mail about this rumour. Graham said "hear it yourself" and make your own conlusion. Eric denied. He met Freddie several times at gigs and said in his latest mail to me that Queen did not use it as an inspiration. For me 10cc is more intelligent music than Queen. For me it's clear that Queen must have loved the 10cc sound but ....it's also a 70's sound which used that time.

[wilsonmcphert]

@mmiddelkoop Thanks for that information. Very interesting. 

[WoodRatGirl]

@mmiddelkoop

I think this song is much better than Bohemian Rhapsody myself.

[rayrandall69]

@mmiddelkoop dear god who is the girl at 1:28

[wilsonmcphert]

@rayrandall69

Norma Shearer

[dbfleur]

@rayrandall69 no idea, she looks good. my username i not mmiddelkoop anymore

[DHazlehurst]

Correct!

[elphielover247]

@tracheoboy I actually heard the beginning with the horns and thought of Bicycle Race.

[wilsonmcphert]

Thanks for all the comments about the video. It took me a lot longer to do than my other videos (mainly because the song is so long!), and it's nice to get some positive feedback.

[BardicAss]

Sooooooooooooooooo Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Orgasmic!!!!!

[HardyBucker]

My pal Paul put me on to this...This is a real classy piece of work by both 10cc and you. Wow!!!

[anfearmorbeag]

Man how this brings me back! I was 15 going on 16 and this one gradually grew on me: it was so sophisticated for a band in 1975. Great work...really great. This will be a hit

[MisterMarket]

10cc surpassed themselves with One NIght in Paris, and you have done a magnificient job here. Loved Samuel Beckett and the croissant moment . DON'T REPOST...DON'T CHANGE A THING sil vous plait. Bitte?

[Octospidr]

This was my first 10cc album (yes, vinyl) and, honestly, I listened to every other song more than I'm Not In Love. Great album.

[alaandru]

Not a mainstream song--back in the day, parts of this tune would have made a successful top 40 rendering and, it is here 10cc's talent shines best; create a track that intrepidly hits many bases but finds scoring in this manner a rather dull experience.

[kelley61]

This is great I listen to it once in awhile a mini Opera

[izzie44]

One the greatest 'Oh No Not All Of It' tracks, Brill Loved it when I was teenager, and at 49 still do:)

[wr7918]

The second voice in line in this song isn't Kevin's but the voice of Eric.

[wilsonmcphert]

I might fix it up at some stage and repost.

[bdf2718]

I saw this live. That was my first exposure to it. I'd heard other stuff by 10cc before (and loved it) but not that one. Fantastic!

[KenpachiGogeta]

great

[BobbyColePopMusic]

I've always considered this the greatest thing I've ever heard from any band in the history of rock and roll.

[wajobu]

This is an incredible song, from the first falling bottle to the final chorus--four very talented musicians and songwriters...beautifully engineered and recorded by Eric Stewart.

[gobbysarah]

fantastic it brings back so many happy memories thanks for posting and the vid you have done is really first class well done

[300minus]

Incredible, as good as i remember when the album first came out.

This is Rock Opera at its ' raw and most delicious.

Though others went further with the genre (i.e. The Tubes), I will always hold place in my heart for 10cc . They were first.

[matinier]

Bravo! I wanted to share this song with my 16 year old stepson and it was great to have a visual!!!! Thanks for sharing!

[koshka03]

The original and best 10cc.

[RubeNSicKo]

Who is the man at 4:21 ???

[wilsonmcphert]

Tom Waits