Squeeze

Squeeze ranked among the new wave’s most tradition-minded pop ensembles, bridging vintage British guitar pop with the post-punk era. Deeply shaped by the Beatles and the Kinks, the group served as the primary outlet for the songwriting partnership of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, who were widely celebrated in the early eighties as successors to the Lennon-McCartney legacy. In contrast to that earlier duo, Difford and Tilbrook maintained a true collaborative division of labor, the former supplying the words and the latter composing the melodies. Although Squeeze never approached the Beatles’ commercial dominance, that very restraint contributed to their appeal. The pair favored understated, incisive songcraft rooted in classic pop structures yet enlivened by literate verses and knowing musical nods. British audiences embraced them at once, propelling early singles such as “Take Me I’m Yours” and “Up the Junction” into the Top Ten, whereas American listeners proved slower to respond; the band waited until 1987, nearly ten years after their first album, to score a U.S. Top 40 hit. Even without widespread Stateside success, Squeeze cultivated a loyal audience that endured into the late nineties, and several tracks—“Another Nail in My Heart,” “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell),” “Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed”—emerged as new-wave pop standards, a fact underscored by the platinum certification of their anthology Singles 45’s and Under.

Chris Difford, born April 11, 1954, and Glenn Tilbrook, born August 31, 1957, established Squeeze in 1974. Tilbrook responded to a notice Difford had posted in a shop window, and the two immediately began composing together. By spring they had enlisted pianist Jools Holland, born Julian Holland on January 24, 1958, and drummer Paul Gunn, adopting the name Squeeze after the Velvet Underground album that contained none of the original members. They worked the pub-rock circuit, though their material leaned quirkier and more pop-oriented than most contemporaries. In 1976 bassist Harry Kakoulli joined and Gilson Lavis, born June 27, 1951, replaced Gunn; Lavis had previously served as tour manager and drummer for Chuck Berry. The group signed with Miles Copeland’s fledgling BTM label and management. Earlier recordings for RCA, including two tracks produced by Muff Winwood, had already been rejected. BTM folded before issuing the intended debut single “Take Me I’m Yours” in early 1977, yet a contract Copeland had negotiated with John Cale enabled the band to record an EP with him.

The EP Packet of Three appeared on Deptford Fun City Records in summer 1977. Shortly afterward Squeeze secured an international deal with A&M, becoming the label’s first new-wave signing following its ill-fated arrangement with the Sex Pistols. Working again with Cale, they began tracking a debut album that Cale provisionally titled Gay Guys. He discarded most of their existing repertoire, compelling fresh compositions that ultimately gave the record a character distinct from their live sound. Released in spring 1978 simply as Squeeze, the album achieved modest success; in America the band briefly performed as UK Squeeze to avoid confusion with another act, reverting to their original name by year’s end. The follow-up, Cool for Cats, arrived in 1979 and proved far more representative, yielding two British number-two singles in the title track and “Up the Junction.” An earlier EP, 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten-Inch Record, had surfaced in late 1978, while the seasonal “Christmas Day” failed to chart. Kakoulli departed after Cool for Cats and was succeeded by John Bentley.

Argybargy, issued in spring 1980, earned the strongest notices yet and produced modest U.K. hits with “Another Nail in My Heart” and “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell).” These tracks, along with “If I Didn’t Love You,” gained traction on American college radio and new-wave clubs, lifting the album to number 71 on the U.S. chart—its first appearance there. Holland, whose growing interest in boogie-woogie piano clashed with the increasingly refined material, exited late in 1980 to form the Millionaires; Paul Carrack, formerly of Ace, took his place. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic now routinely compared Difford and Tilbrook to Lennon and McCartney, prompting the band to attempt their own ambitious statement with 1981’s East Side Story. After aborting sessions with Dave Edmunds, they enlisted Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian. The album reached number 19 in Britain and number 44 in the States, while the soulful “Tempted,” sung by Carrack, became their first U.S. charting single despite missing the U.K. Top 40. The country-tinged “Labeled with Love” supplied their final British Top Ten hit that autumn. Carrack left at year’s end for Carlene Carter’s band and was replaced by classically trained pianist Don Snow, ex of the Sinceros.

Exhaustion from nonstop touring surfaced on 1982’s Sweets from a Stranger, which peaked at number 32 in America yet only number 37 at home; its single “Black Coffee in Bed” stalled at number 51. Still, the group filled Madison Square Garden that summer. Weary of the road and persistent commercial frustrations, Difford and Tilbrook dissolved Squeeze late in 1982, issuing the compilation Singles 45’s and Under, which ironically climbed to number three in Britain and later earned platinum status in the U.S.

The duo continued writing together, however, envisioning themselves in the Tin Pan Alley or Brill Building tradition. They supplied material for Helen Shapiro, Paul Young, Billy Bremner, and Jools Holland, and mounted a short-lived musical, Labelled with Love, in Deptford early in 1983. Their own eponymous album appeared in summer 1984, revealing a polished new aesthetic. By early 1985 they had reunited Squeeze for a charity concert, prompting Holland and Lavis—then driving a cab—to rejoin alongside bassist Keith Wilkinson. Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti surfaced that autumn to favorable reviews. Andy Metcalfe of Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians added second-keyboard duties in 1986. Babylon and On, released in autumn 1987, became an unexpected success, reaching number 14 in Britain and yielding the band’s biggest American hits: “Hourglass,” which climbed to number 15 thanks to heavy MTV rotation of its inventive video, and the Top 40 “853-5937.” After an international tour that included another Madison Square Garden date and a headlining slot at Reading, Metcalfe departed.

Frank, issued in autumn 1989, received scant promotional support and flopped on both sides of the Atlantic. A&M subsequently dropped the band. Holland then left to focus on solo work and BBC television hosting. A live album, A Round & a Bout, appeared on IRS in spring 1990. Early the next year Squeeze signed with Reprise and recorded Play with session keyboardists Steve Nieve, Bruce Hornsby, and Matt Irving; the album garnered little attention. During the tour Don Snow and Carol Isaacs handled keyboards. In 1992 Difford and Tilbrook began occasional acoustic shows while the touring lineup shifted again, bringing Nieve aboard full-time. Gilson Lavis exited later that year for Jools Holland’s big band and was replaced by Attractions drummer Pete Thomas.

The band resigned from A&M in early 1993 and cut Some Fantastic Place with Thomas on drums and Carrack returning on keyboards. The album debuted at number 26 in Britain upon its September release but was overlooked in America. Thomas rejoined the Attractions in 1994; Andy Newmark took over. Kevin Wilkinson—no relation to Keith—joined as drummer before the 1995 sessions for Ridiculous, which yielded U.K. hits “This Summer” and “Electric Trains.” IRS issued the record in the U.S. in spring 1996; Don Snow, credited as John Savannah, contributed keyboards. Two compilations followed in 1996: Piccadilly Collection in America and the double-disc Excess Moderation in Britain. A&M U.K. released the Six of One… box set in 1997, containing remastered editions of the first six albums plus bonus tracks. A planned second box was canceled when the label folded. Squeeze then signed with Quixotic Records and delivered Domino in November 1998, recorded with a new lineup featuring Chris Holland on keyboards, bassist Hilaire Penda, and drummer Ashley Soan. After the supporting tour the group again went their separate ways at the close of 1999.

Throughout the 2000s Difford and Tilbrook pursued solo work and contributed to Squeeze-related projects, including Jim Drury’s 2004 book Squeeze: Song by Song, but resisted reunion overtures, including VH1’s Band Reunited in 2004. Activity resumed in 2007 when Universal reissued Argybargy and a new hits collection; the pair assembled a new touring version drawn largely from Glenn’s Fluffers, later documented on 5 Live: On Tour in America. Regular touring followed, and in 2010 they announced new songs. Before that album materialized they issued Spot the Difference, a 2010 collection of re-recorded hits. Over the next five years Difford and Tilbrook continued writing while touring with John Bentley, Stephen Large, and Simon Hanson; Bentley was replaced by Lucy Shaw in 2015. Their first studio album in seventeen years, Cradle to the Grave, appeared in autumn 2015. Shaw then departed and was succeeded by Yolanda Charles; Steve Smith, formerly of Dirty Vegas, joined on percussion. This configuration debuted on The Knowledge, released in October 2017.