London, UK · new wave · power-pop

Squeeze

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Difford and Tilbrook's kitchen-sink character sketches set to some of the sharpest pop writing of the era — 'Up the Junction' a short story in song.

Chris Difford placed a small advert for a guitarist in a Deptford sweetshop window in 1973, despite not yet having a band; Glenn Tilbrook was the only reply. The pair began writing together and built Squeeze around them, taking their name as a joke reference to a maligned Velvet Underground album. Deptford's music scene at the time also produced Alternative TV and Dire Straits.

The band's debut album was largely produced by John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground, though its two hit singles were finished by the band themselves after the label judged Cale's versions too uncommercial. Reviewers of the period called Difford and Tilbrook heirs to Lennon and McCartney. Beyond the songs already known, "Labelled with Love" reached the UK top ten, while "Black Coffee in Bed" and "Hourglass" gave them American hits as part of what was dubbed the Second British Invasion.

Jools Holland was not the only keyboard player to use Squeeze as a launching point; Paul Carrack, who also sang some lead vocals, passed through the band and went on to his own career. Squeeze has featured more than thirty musicians over the years, with only Difford and Tilbrook remaining constant throughout.

The band first split in 1982, reformed in 1985, and disbanded again in 1999 before reuniting in 2007 for shows in the UK and US. In 2010 they released Spot the Difference, re-recording older songs, and 2015's Cradle to the Grave became their highest-charting album of new material. Further albums followed with The Knowledge in 2017 and Trixies.

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new wavepower-pop