The whispering woman behind 10cc's I'm Not In Love

BBC News

08-04-2025

BBC
"Be quiet - big boys don't cry... big boys don't cry ... big boys don't cry!"
Those whispered words are, of course, an essential part of 10cc's best-known hit single, 1970s pop masterpiece I'm Not In Love which was recently reprised by two of the band - Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman - in a session for BBC Radio Two's Piano Room.
Now, 50 years since the record's release, the woman who delivered those words can still scarcely believe her 15 seconds of fame.
It all began when receptionist and secretary Cathy Redfern answered the phone at Stockport's Strawberry Studios, which were part-owned by the critically acclaimed Mancunian band.
She was blissfully unaware drummer Kevin Godley felt the "middle eight" section was lacking a certain something in Eric Stewart's song about his wife not being happy with him for hardly ever saying he loved her.
The band had added layers of overdubbed vocals and haunting instrumentalism to the song.
Godley was whispering the line "Be quiet - big boys don't cry" in the control room when Cathy popped in to deliver a message.
The then 19-year-old had only been working at the studios for about a year and did not want to disturb the band.
However, she knew she had to pass on a message.
She recalled: "I could see they were very busy, so I just went to the door and whispered to Eric: 'There's a phone call for you.'
"They just said 'That's it."
Impressed by the tone of her spoken voice, the band immediately asked her to replace Godley in committing them to tape.
"I immediately said no way," said Cathy, who is now known by her married name of Warren.
She said she remembered thinking: "I can't sing."
It turns out the band were very persuasive, however.
She said guitarist Lol Creme "put me over his shoulder and carried me back to the studio".
Cathy added: "Kevin Godley came into the studio with me and would tap me on the shoulder when they wanted me to speak - I managed to do it in around three to four takes."
At the time, she did not really think much of it, other than a brief distraction from her day job.
All that changed, though, when the song hit number one and 10cc performed it on BBC One's Top Of The Pops.
Looking back, she told the BBC: "It is a fabulous song. I never get tired of hearing it even now. It just stops you in your tracks really.
"I never thought I would be hearing it 50 years later."
The tune can also turn up in some unexpected places, she said.
"It has followed me wherever I go. One time, I was returning from a family holiday in Greece when it started as we boarded the plane."
Cathy Warren
Kudos for her role in pop history seems to have skipped a generation, though, since her children were not especially impressed by their mum's exploits.
Cathy said: "My grandson is really impressed, though, because his teacher is a massive 10cc fan."
She said she had fond memories of her time at Strawberry Studios.
Cathy said the band viewed her as their "kid sister".
"They really looked after me," she said. "It was a great time."
So many big name acts recorded at Strawberry Studios, which have been dubbed the Abbey Road of the North.
Was Cathy star-struck?
"Not really," she replied. "As it was just my job. The nearest I came was when I worked for the band when they played Knebworth.
"Eric said to me 'I have a job for you which I think you are going to like - can you look after Paul McCartney for two hours?'"
She recalled: "We had lunch and he was a really lovely man. I was really interested in what he had to say, but he was really interested in what I did... especially what I did for I'm Not In Love."
Her more tangible memory of the time is a silver disc which the band gave her in recognition of the crucial role she played in their most famous song.
"That was just typical of them," she said.
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Stockport