Guided by the redoubtable songwriting crew of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, enduring South London quintet Squeeze have created one of the crucial covetable – and quintessentially English – catalogs in pop over the previous 4 a long time, as the most effective Squeeze songs present. Well-known for his or her signature hits “Cool For Cats” and “Up The Junction,” the band initially rose to prominence as punk segued into New Wave. No strangers to life’s vicissitudes, they’ve cut up up and reformed twice, but have commonly frequented the UK Prime 40. They will additionally boast of a devoted following in North America, and, after a five-year break, returned sounding refreshed with 2015’s critically acclaimed Cradle To The Grave, primarily based upon fellow South Londoner Danny Baker’s acclaimed autobiography Going To Sea In A Sieve.
Hailing from Deptford, in southeast London, budding teenage singer-songwriters Difford and Tilbrook based the band in 1974, taking their title from The Velvet Underground’s obscure ultimate LP, recorded after the departure of mainstays Lou Reed and John Cale. After some line-up modifications and a fanbase-building residency at The Bricklayers Arms in Greenwich, the band settled into their “classic” line-up, with Difford and Tilbrook supplemented by powerhouse drummer Gilson Lavis, bassist Harri Kakoulli (later changed by John Bentley), and prodigiously gifted pianist Jools Holland.
Squeeze made their vinyl debut in July 1977. That includes the fierce, atypically punky “Cat On A Wall,” their preliminary Packet Of Three EP was launched by way of Deptford Enjoyable Metropolis, the unbiased imprint fashioned by Different TV frontman/Sniffin’ Glue fanzine founder Mark Perry and the band’s supervisor Miles Copeland (brother of The Police’s Stewart).
Promoting a extremely respectable 25,000 copies and considerably elevating the band’s profile (they had been invited to report a coveted Peel session on August 17), Packet Of Three led to Squeeze signing to main label A&M late in ’77. The fledgling band shortly laid down their self-titled debut LP (just lately reissued on vinyl, together with Eighties Argybargy) with certainly one of their heroes, ex-Velvet Underground star John Cale, producing. Highlights from the periods included the aggressive “Sex Master,” the Velvets-esque “Strong In Reason” and the Japanese-influenced “Take Me, I’m Yours,” which supplied the band with a Prime 20 hit and their first look on Prime Of The Pops.
Squeeze actually obtained into their stride with April 1979’s Cool For Cats, whereby their pure, streetwise Cockney attraction usurped the punky aggression of their debut. An eclectic deal with, the LP included all the things from saucy 60s-style pop (“It’s So Dirty”) to the synth-swathed, Giorgio Moroder-esque “Slap And Tickle,” whereas its two towering Prime 10 hits, the cheeky, Ian Dury-ish “Cool For Cats” and “Up The Junction” – an outstanding and still-resonant portrait of a doomed relationship – confirmed that Difford was quick turning into an adept lyricist.
Cool For Cats earned the band a silver disc within the UK, whereas February 1980’s Argybargy helped swell the band’s Stateside reputation, cracking the Prime 75 of the Billboard 200 and going gold in Canada. One other glowing pop report, Argybargy included two common 45s in Prime 20 smash “Another Nail For My Heart” and “Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)” – a vivid portrait of a British seaside trip – together with vivacious cuts such because the fantastic “Separate Beds,” whereby Difford’s sensible lyric recounted the awkwardness of a younger man staying over at his girlfriend’s mother and father’ home for the primary time.
Argybargy made it abundantly clear that Squeeze would outlast England’s new wave pop pack, however with Jools Holland leaving to embark on a extremely profitable profession in tv (he initially co-presented Channel 4’s The Tube with Paula Yates), gifted ex-Ace keyboardist/vocalist Paul Carrack was recruited for 1981’s East Aspect Story. Arguably the band’s most critically acclaimed launch, the album was produced by Elvis Costello and peaked at No.19 within the UK, the place it earned Squeeze a second silver disc.
A consummate pop report, with Difford and chief tunesmith Tilbrook firing on all cylinders, the varied East Aspect Story featured enduring fan-favorites (and greatest Squeeze songs) together with the chic, infidelity-related radio hit “Tempted” and the exuberant soul-pop of ‘In Quintessence,” whereas the country-flavored “Labelled With Love” swept as much as No.4 on the UK singles chart.
Recorded after Don Snow changed the departing Carrack, 1982’s Sweets From A Stranger included a number of gems such because the understated, string-kissed “When The Hangover Strikes,” the fantastic, Seashore Boys-esque “The Elephant Ride” and craving 45 “Black Coffee In Bed.” The album’s launch capitalized on the band’s burgeoning reputation within the States (the place it peaked at No.32 on the Billboard 200), however success got here at a worth, with Squeeze splitting within the wake of the following, stress-fueled world tour.
A&M launched the self-explanatory Singles: 45s And Below compilation to coincide with the band’s parting of the methods and – sarcastically – it went platinum on each side of the Atlantic. Because it turned out, the group’s cut up proved to be short-lived; after Difford and Tilbrook reconvened for 1984’s Difford & Tilbrook, they reformed Squeeze with Lavis, a returning Jools Holland, and Keith Wilkinson changing John Bentley on bass.
This line-up recorded 1985’s Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti – distinguished by the vivid, childhood-related “King George Street” – and September ’87’s strong Babylon And On, which rose to No.14 on the UK Prime 40 and yielded Squeeze’s two largest US Prime 40 hits courtesy of ‘853-5937’ and “Hourglass”: the latter promoted by a placing, optical-illusion-filled video directed by comic Adrian Edmondson.
After the triumph of Babylon And On, Squeeze suffered the relative disappointment of 1989’s Frank, which – regardless of sterling 45s “If It’s Love” and “Love Circles,” and Difford’s pro-feminist “She Doesn’t Have To Shave” – did not chart, resulting in Squeeze parting firm with long-time label A&M. Warners/Reprise stepped in to launch 1991’s refined Play, which was recorded with Elvis Costello’s keyboardist Steve Nieve filling in for the departing Holland, who, from 1992 on, was preoccupied presenting BBC Two’s persistently common Later… With Jools Holland.
A mature and constant album, Play contained two common US radio hits, “Satisfied” and the horn-assisted “Crying In Your Sleep,” however it was made in troublesome circumstances, hinted at on the album’s ominous closing monitor “There Is A Voice.”
Lengthy-serving drummer Gilson Lavis departed in 1992 and, from then on, Squeeze turned primarily Difford and Tilbrook’s concern, with collaborators commonly coming and going. A&M re-engaged the band for 2 glorious mid-90s albums, Some Incredible Place (that includes the returning Paul Carrack and Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas) and 95’s Ridiculous, each of which showcased a slew of wonderful tracks.
Peaking at No.26 within the UK, Some Incredible Place included the sprightly Prime 40 single “Third Rail” and the poignant titular track, written in tribute to Tilbrook’s first girlfriend, Maxine, who had just lately died from leukemia. Squeeze’s renaissance then continued with the colourful Ridiculous, which arguably benefitted from being launched whereas Britpop was at its top, and yielded two superb Prime 40 hits courtesy of the wistful “This Summer” and the joyous but nostalgic “Electric Trains.”
Ridiculous, nonetheless, would show to be Squeeze’s ultimate foray into the pop mainstream, as A&M determined to not renew the band’s contract. The band subsequently launched 1998’s Domino, their ultimate studio set for 17 years, on Tilbrook’s personal Quixotic imprint. The album featured a number of notable moments, not least the sparky title monitor and the touching “Without You Here,” however it was neglected and, after a troublesome tour (minus the absent Difford), Squeeze referred to as it a day for a second time.
Each Difford and Tilbrook remained energetic throughout the business, and, whereas each have launched critically hailed solo materials, in addition they reformed Squeeze for a 3rd spell in 2010. Intensive UK and US excursions, plus Spot The Distinction (that includes new recordings of chosen band highlights) adopted, however followers awaiting new music had been rewarded in model with October 2015’s excellent Cradle To The Grave. The report’s quite a few stand-outs – from the celebratory, Tamla Motown-esque title monitor to the uplifting, religious “Snap, Crackle & Pop” – ensured critics had been reaching for the superlatives. Its spectacular UK chart peak of No.12 proved categorically that you could by no means write an excellent band off.
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