Released by Cherry Red on 20 November 2026, 10cc – The Stockport Shuffle – Complete UK Label Anthology 1972-1974 is an expanded 6CD / 1 Blu-ray overview of the first two albums by 70s art-pop titans 10cc.
Covering the bands first two studio albums, the box-set features previously-unissued alternative versions, album session highlights, out-takes, rehearsals and BBC recordings.
The Blu-ray (not supplied for review) features live TV performances and includes for the first time, Dolby Atmos mixes of the album tracks alongside a few alt versions / extras.
I am not reviewing the music on the first two albums – if you know and love 10cc you will know these songs inside out, so I will concentrate on the extras and the audio quality.
The first two albums sound the best I have heard them. The work from Sean Macreavy (who was responsible for curating, remixing, processing, remastering, new tape and vinyl restoration as well as video re-editing) is top-notch. The albums sound like they were recorded yesterday. Both albums have extra tracks, some of which were included on earlier reissues.
Waterfall is a highlight of these tracks on the first disc, a delicious acoustic ballad with lush West-Coast harmonies.
“Gonna get out of the city, gonna get back to the land”
The Sheet Music disc is stunning. The highlights of the extras include the breezy instrumental Gismo My Way (UK single version) and the swaggering 18 Carat Man Of Means.
Where are they now? They are over the hill and far away
Onto the extra material. Disc 3 is one for completists, with lots of mono mixes. The BBC Transcription Discs have some stereo mixes, but do still have a little age degradation.
Warm me (studio version) is a highlight of this disc, a very early 70s sounding track that charms. Headline Hustler and Somewhere In Hollywood from the Transcription Disc differ to their final studio releases (lyric and verse changes). Today (recorded as Festival) and here in an extended version, is a previously unavailable rarity, in a mono mix. The third disc also features Eric Stewart’s 1974 mono-only mixes for radio/TV use.
The LP samplers are interesting, with a voiceover introducing tracks – “every track sounds like a hit single”. I can’t argue with that.
We became the darlings of this thing called rock and roll
Disc four is an exciting part of the box-set, with extended master take remixes of the songs making up the albums 10cc and Sheet Music, excluding The Hospital Song which was not able to be located by the box-set compilers.
The extended takes are not like 80s extended mixes, where songs are re-imagined and remixed, these are unedited takes, with bits of studio noise / chatter included, often adding from a few seconds to a minute to the version you will already likely know and love.
So Johnny, Don’t Do It! gives you the extended run out as the vocals add layer after layer, and guitars clash on the ending, whilst Sand In My Face also sees a longer runout.
Some tracks, such as Donna, just have a few seconds of extra intro, but there are other changes pushed to the surface for the first time in these mixes. So for Donna, the vocal backing lines sit higher in the mix, and whilst I think the original timings and mixes are the definitive take, the extended masters give a fascinating insight into the creative process, and boy, were the band creative! There is plenty here for you to compare and discover, so I won’t give it all away.
The final track, a vocal segment from Oh Effendi, gives a hint at future archival releases. Prepare to be excited!
Load up, load up, load up…
Disc five is the 10cc album session highlights, featuring an array of alt takes. I love the two versions of Waterfall, with the stop and start on the second take making you feel like you are in the studio alongside the band, and the vocal breakdown on the longer first version highlights the beauty of the bands tight vocal harmonies. Spine tingling stuff.
The massive hits Donna and Rubber Bullets offer missing pieces from the song and it’s instrumental takes, and a fascinating short stripped back to just the vocal session for Rubber Bullets provides a previously unheard peek under the bonnet with the instrument faders turned down. The Lol and Kevin rehearsal for Fresh Air For My Mama strips the song back to its piano and vocal core.
My favourite take on this disc is the breakdown mix of Speed Kills, such an inventive drum performance.
Disc 6 is the Sheet Music album session highlights. Kicking off with an excellent alt take of Baron Samedi, followed by a playful, almost garage bank like rehearsal of The Worst Band In The World.
The vocal plus acoustic guitar and percussion take of Oh Effendi is a delight, whereas the instrumental clip from Old Wild Men is disturbing, with an early appearance (? the earliest) of the Gizmo instrument. Go look the Gizmo up, kids. The master version, with Kevin only on lead vocals, lifts the mood back up, reminding you that its such a beautiful song.
The session highlights take of 18 Carat Man Of Means pieces together scraps of stop and start sections of the song, which make it one of my least favourites from this disc. The Wall Street Shuffle demo is fascinating, with much of the arrangement of the classic song we know and love already in place. Once the guitar lines were added in the studio, the song really lifted off.
The vocals only version of Clockwork Creep is entertaining. A short, reverb drenched vocal only segment of Old Wild Men closes the CD section of the box-set.
I cannot wait to receive the finished product, and I am particularly looking forward to hearing the Dolby Atmos mixes, as the playful, experimental nature of 10cc’s early material will surely lend itself perfectly to this immersive audio format. I can’t wait to hear Clockwork Creep blasting at me from all angles. Tick a tick a time bomb.
The booklet is a delight – with background to the recordings, sleeve art and a ton of pictures. It is also styled as if it was produced in the early to mid 1970s, so perfectly in keeping with the era coveted by this lavish box set.
The legendary producer Steve Levine (Culture Club, China Crisis) started off as a tape-op and then became in house engineer for CBS in the 70s, so we’ll before his 1980s heyday, so Levine had valuable experience that makes him perfect to work on the sessions master mixes for Waterfall, Donna and Rubber Bullets.
Malcolm C Searles provided the breakdown session mixes for Speed Kills, Hotel, Sand In My Face and Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?) whilst Eric Baumgartner provided the Somewhere In Hollywood master remixes.
The Stockport Shuffle – Complete UK Label Anthology 1972-1974 box-set is the definitive set covering the first two 10cc studio albums. The original albums sound amazing and the extras offer an enticing look into the early recordings of the band.
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TRACKLIST
DISC ONE
10cc album remaster + singles
Johnny, Don’t Do It!
Sand In My Face
Donna
The Dean And I
Headline Hustler
Speed Kills
Rubber Bullets
The Hospital Song
Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?)
Fresh Air For My Mama
Donna (UK single version)
Hot Sun Rock
Johnny, Don’t Do It! (UK single version)
4% Of Something…
Rubber Bullets (UK single version)
Waterfall
The Dean And I (UK single version)
Bee In My Bonnet
Headline Hustler (US single version, stereo)
Rubber Bullets (US single version)
Headline Hustler (US single version, mono)
DISC TWO
Sheet Music album remaster + singles, vinyl rarities
The Wall Street Shuffle
The Worst Band In The World
Hotel
Old Wild Men
Clockwork Creep
Silly Love
Somewhere In Hollywood
Baron Samedi
The Sacro-Iliac
Oh Effendi
The Worst Band In The World
18 Carat Man Of Means
The Wall Street Shuffle (UK single version)
Gismo My Way
Silly Love (single edit)
The Worst Band In The World (“clean” version)
The Wall Street Shuffle (US stereo, “clean” version)
Hotel (promo edit)
Silly Love (promo edit)
The Wall Street Shuffle (US mono, “clean” version)
DISC THREE
BBC Transcription Discs 1972-1974, mono mixes for radio use, first album promo, single as Festival
Today (BBC Transcription Disc – studio version, extended mono mix)
Warm Me (BBC Transcription Disc – studio version)
Waterfall (BBC Transcription Disc – studio/live hybrid)
Rubber Bullets (BBC Transcription Disc – edited studio/ live hybrid)
The Worst Band In The World (BBC Transcription Disc – mono)
Headline Hustler (BBC Transcription Disc – edited studio version, no ‘friend at the CIA’ verse)
Somewhere In Hollywood (BBC Transcription Disc – original draft lyric, Monroe rather than Harlow)
Sand In My Face (TV/radio mix, mono)
The Dean And I (TV/radio mix, mono)
Speed Kills (TV/radio mix, mono)
Fresh Air For My Mama (TV/ radio mix, mono)
Headline Hustler (TV/radio mix, edited lyric, mono)
Rubber Bullets (TV/radio mix, edited lyric, mono)
The Worst Band In The World (TV/radio mix, edited lyric, mono)
Old Wild Men (TV/radio mix, mono)
LP sampler 7” Side One
LP sampler 7” Side Two
DISC FOUR
Extended Masters
Johnny, Don’t Do It!
Sand In My Face
Donna
The Dean And I
Speed Kills
Rubber Bullets
Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?)
Fresh Air For My Mama
The Wall Street Shuffle
The Worst Band In The World
Hotel
Old Wild Men
Clockwork Creep
Silly Love
Somewhere In Hollywood
Baron Samedi
The Sacro-Iliac
Oh Effendi
Gismo My Way
Oh Effendi (vocal segment)
DISC FIVE
10cc album session highlights
Waterfall (instrumental master with vocal breakdown)
Waterfall (extended master)
Donna (early takes, with vocal sections)
Donna (instrumental master)
Johnny, Don’t Do It! (mainly instrumental, vocal ending, police message)
Rubber Bullets (abandoned electric guitar intro)
Rubber Bullets (instrumental master)
Rubber Bullets (vocal section)
Sand In My Face (breakdown mix)
Sand In My Face (vocal section)
Fresh Air For My Mama (Lol and Kevin rehearsal)
Fresh Air For My Mama (early takes, breakdown)
Fresh Air For My Mama (instrumental master)
Speed Kills (strings only)
Speed Kills (breakdown mix)
Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?) (instrumental)
Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?) (breakdown mix)
The Dean And I (takes 1 and 2, instrumental)
The Dean And I (vocal track)
Headline Hustler (aborted attempt at master instrumental)
The Hospital Song (vocal section)
Bee In My Bonnet
Fresh Air For My Mama (vocal section)
DISC SIX
Sheet Music album session highlights
Baron Samedi (alternative version)
The Worst Band In The World (rehearsals)
Oh Effendi (demo, Eric guide vocal)
Oh Effendi (vocal track, Graham’s acoustic guitar + percussion)
Old Wild Men (Lol’s guitar and Gizmo test)
Old Wild Men (master, Kevin-only lead vocal)
Somewhere In Hollywood (master instrumental)
Somewhere In Hollywood (vocal track)
Baron Samedi (version 2, instrumental)
Hotel (breakdown mix)
18 Carat Man Of Means (session highlights)
The Wall Street Shuffle (demo)
The Wall Street Shuffle (instrumental master)
The Wall Street Shuffle (vocal segment)
Clockwork Creep (takes 1-3)
Clockwork Creep (instrumental)
Clockwork Creep (vocal track)
Silly Love (take 1, studio chatter intro)
The Sacro-Iliac (take 1, breakdown)
The Sacro-Iliac (instrumental, Graham and Kevin)
The Sacro-Iliac (vocal segment)
18 Carat Man Of Means (extended master)
Gismo My Way (take 1)
Old Wild Men (vocal segment)
DISC SEVEN – BLU-RAY
Video
Rubber Bullets (Top Of The Pops broadcast 25th December 1973)
The Dean And I (Filmed at Strawberry, mid-1973)
Old Wild Men (Old Grey Whistle Test, filmed at The Hardrock in Stretford, Manchester, broadcast 26th February 1974)
See You Sunday, broadcast 21st April 1974
Fresh Air For My Mama
The Wall Street Shuffle
BBC2 In Concert, broadcast 21st August 1974
Silly Love
The Wall Street Shuffle
Baron Samedi
Old Wild Men
Oh Effendi
Fresh Air For My Mama
Rubber Bullets
Dolby Atmos surround sound mixes
Waterfall
Donna
Johnny, Don’t Do It!
Rubber Bullets
Sand In My Face
Fresh Air For My Mama
Speed Kills
Ships Don’t Disappear (Do They?)
The Dean And I
The Hospital Song (album version)
Headline Hustler (early version)
Headline Hustler (album version)
Bee In My Bonnet
Baron Samedi (early version)
The Worst Band In The World
Oh Effendi
Old Wild Men
Somewhere In Hollywood
Baron Samedi
Hotel
18 Carat Man Of Means
The Wall Street Shuffle
Clockwork Creep
Silly Love
The Sacro-Iliac
Gismo My Way
Buy 10cc – The Stockport Shuffle – Complete UK Label Anthology 1972-1974 from Amazon
