Before 10cc, Gouldman worked as a freelance songwriter and penned many hits for major rock and pop groups, including the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Ohio Express.

Although Gouldman's father worked in the clothing industry, he was a keen amateur poet and playwright and advised him whilst he developed his songwriting craft.

The Whirlwinds – comprising Gouldman (vocals, guitar), Maurice Sperling (vocals/drums), Bernard Basso (bass), Stephen Jacobson (guitar, bongos), Malcolm Wagner and Phil Cohen – secured a recording contract with HMV, releasing a recording of the Buddy Holly song "Look at Me", backed with "Baby Not Like You", written by future 10cc bandmate Lol Creme, on May 22, 1964.

[2] Gouldman dissolved the Whirlwinds in late 1964, and the following February formed the Mockingbirds with Jacobson, Basso, and a former member of fellow Manchester band the Sabres, Kevin Godley (drums).

[3] The Mockingbirds also began a regular warm-up spot for BBC Television's Top of the Pops, transmitted from Manchester.

"[5] At the same time Gouldman signed a management agreement with Harvey Lisberg, and while working by day in a men's outfitters shop and playing by night with his semi-professional band, he wrote a string of hit songs, many of them million sellers.

Between 1965 and 1967 alone, he wrote "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul" and "Evil Hearted You" for the Yardbirds; "Look Through Any Window" (with Charles Silverman) and "Bus Stop" for the Hollies; "Listen People", "No Milk Today" and "East West" for Herman's Hermits; "Pamela, Pamela" and "The Impossible Years" for Wayne Fontana; "Behind the Door" for St. Louis Union (later covered by Cher), "Tallyman" for Jeff Beck; and "Going Home", which was a 1967 Australian hit for Normie Rowe.

In 1966–67, Gouldman recorded singles with two other bands, High Society and the Manchester Mob, both of which featured singer Peter Cowap.

[6] In March 1968, he stepped in as a temporary replacement for bassist Bob Lang in the Mindbenders, writing two of the band's final singles, "Schoolgirl" and "Uncle Joe, the Ice Cream Man".

"[5] He wrote briefly for publishing house Robbins Music and producer Mickie Most in 1967, and then shifted base to the Kennedy Street Enterprises show business management offices in Manchester.

"[5] One of his first tasks for Super K was writing and singing lead vocals on "Sausalito (Is the Place to Go)", which was released in July 1969 under the name of the Ohio Express.

In December 1969, Gouldman convinced Kasenetz and Katz that the series of throwaway two-minute songs he was writing could all be performed and produced by him and three friends, Godley, Creme and former Mindbender Eric Stewart, at a fraction of the price of hiring outside session musicians.

[citation needed] In late 1970, Gouldman returned to the UK to join Stewart, Godley and Creme – who had in the interim scored an international hit single with "Neanderthal Man" under the name of Hotlegs – on an abbreviated British tour supporting the Moody Blues.

The four musicians continued work at Strawberry Studios, producing and backing artists including Cowap, Dave Berry, Wayne Fontana, Herman's Hermits and Neil Sedaka, as well as recording quite a number of one-off singles on many different labels (RCA, Pye, etc.)

When Kevin Godley and Lol Creme departed in 1976 to explore new musical territories, Gouldman remained with Stewart, continuing the band essentially as a two-piece, although with regular collaborators including Rick Fenn, Paul Burgess and Stuart Tosh.

In 1979, Gouldman scored a minor hit with his single "Sunburn", written for the Farrah Fawcett–Charles Grodin film of the same name.

I spoke to Graham and Eric by phone and soon I was in the UK, co-writing and co-producing three tracks for the album, which was a blast to do and turned out very well.

But before long Graham and I were talking again, and he asked if I wanted to return to England to write and just kind of hang for a few weeks.

Eric had decided to take some time off from 10cc, and Graham, ever happy to be working, hunkered down with me, writing and recording in his home studio in Cheshire.

Soon, we realised that what we were doing was basically writing and recording a homemade band album.After a nine-year break, Gouldman and Stewart resurrected 10cc for 1992's …Meanwhile album, which also featured performances by Godley, Creme and Gold.

It was later covered by Morten Harket (singer of the Norwegian pop group A-ha) on his 1995 debut solo album Wild Seed.

And some of that has rubbed off on me.During the late 1990s Gouldman wrote with a few different writers, including Paul Carrack on his minor 1997 hit "The Way I'm Feeling Tonight", and Kirsty MacColl on her final album Tropical Brainstorm in 2000.

In Gouldman's words:Kevin and I have always stayed in touch even though we haven't actually worked together for many years, so I was delighted when he called to suggest we write some songs.

[11]In July 2006, Godley and Gouldman's website offered four downloadable tracks: "The Same Road", "Johnny Hurts", "Beautifulloser.com" and "Hooligan Crane".

In November 2019, he announced a new album titled Modesty Forbids featuring Ringo Starr, which was released in March 2020 on the British indie label Lojinx.