10cc - Headline Hustler

‘Headline Hustler’ at last moves us away from the doo wop spoofs for a spoof of the journalists of the world, nice boys pretending to be nasty in order to get better splashes for their front page. You really don’t need to know about the lyrics of this song, though, as much as the music which includes a distinctive riff, a chorus that erupts out of nowhere, a classic Eric Stewart guitar solo and a catchy drum pattern from Kevin Godley. Eric takes the lead on this song (one thing that does work well on this track listing is the way the four singers switch around more or less equally) and it’s one of his best, part innocent kid in a world out of depth and part raving troublemaker, desperate to secure the scoop his rivals can’t. No scandal is too small or too private for this private eye, with his morals gone by the board the moment he sniffs money and power. Having been or at least been around journalist for some years I can say that this song is all true, especially concerning music writers! Hmm a catchy tune with the lyrics mixed low, a spoof of a section of the society with control over the masses and words quite unlike any other song of the day, this is surely where Gouldmann and Stewart get their future writing template from and makes for a rocking end to this album’s first side.