the squeeze reader


Packet of Three Squeeze Picture of the Week: www.packetofthree.com

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

SQUEEZED at The Well in Luton Saturday 1st October

Pete Woodward e-mails:

Many, many thanks to all of you who came to see us play at The Cricketers in Ickleford sunday afternoon - we were so lucky with the weather!! Hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did.

Yet another great opportunity to see the band that plays the fantastic music of the great Chris Difford and the great Glenn Tilbrook from their days in SQUEEZE - SQUEEZED (www.squeezed.info).

It's this Saturday evening - starting 8.30 to 9pm-ish.

The Well Music Venue

5 Hightown Road
Luton
LU2 0BW

Info - 01582 487464

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Sampling Gilson

Gilson Lavis gets a mention in the Manchester Evening News:
"Since moving, I've engineering an extended single for Manchester band Keith and produced a sampler for Jools Holland's drummer Gilson Lavis. I'm getting clients through word of mouth and reputation."

Friday, September 23, 2005

Where can I be his friend?: Chris' new site on Myspace and tour news

Chris Difford has a new site on Myspace, a popular online profile site. This is good news, because operating myspace seems to be a heck of a lot easier and more flexible for independent musicians to update than having a professional Web guy update a flash site (I still love Chris' regular site, don't get me wrong).

The person who is helping Chris with the Myspace site said it's little premature, but I hope this isn't: Chris lists dates in November and December with Jools. As shown on his myspace site, those would be the following:
Nov 2 2005 8:00P Bristol Colston Hall (with Jools) UK
Nov 3 2005 8:00P Bristol Colston Hall (with Jools) UK
Nov 26 2005 8:00P Albert Hall (with Jools) UK
Dec 2 2005 8:00P Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (with Jools) Glasgow
Dec 3 2005 8:00P Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (with Jools) Glasgow
Dec 16 2005 8:00P Plymouth Pavillions (with Jools) UK
Dec 17 2005 8:00P Bournmouth Centre (with Jools) Bournmouth
Dec 18 2005 8:00P Brighton Centre (with Jools) Brighton

Another neat feature is you get to tag other people and be their "friend." On my Myspace profile, though, I only have like four friends -- the guy who founded Myspace, my sister, Michael Penn and Michael Penn's e-mail list guy. I just tagged Chris. Let's see if he adds me.

Update (Sept. 24): He added me! Woohoo! I'm the first comment on his page,

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Spare a good thought for Rob...

And for everyone else near the central Gulf coast of Texas. Rob lives in Houston about 50 miles inland of Galveston, which is being evacuated in preparation of Hurricane Rita. Rita is a category 5 hurricane set to hit somewhere between Galveston and Corpus Christi. To give you a sense of scale, Katrina, which damaged New Orleans' levees and wiped out Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss., was a category 4. Rob has audioblogged about the preparations process. If you have any more room for a spare thought, please send another one to Corpus Christi, for which I have some affection after having been born there a while ago.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

New Squeeze Release? Yet another compilation....

Amazon.com lists this as having been released Tuesday (Sept. 20). The Squeeze "Gold" double CD set is available in the US as an import. The track listing looks so familiar to me, but that may be because I've seen these songs compiled so many times before. Its 39 tracks span the early period to Domino, but skips over "Play" (a Reprise release) and (strangely) "Frank."

Now, I'm not so much of a completist that I can compare track listings across all the compilations, so maybe someone can tell me if this is really something new, or an old compilation repackaged with the color version of picture decorating Song by Song, (as you can see here from the Amazon.co.uk).
Track Listings
1. Suites From Five Strangers
2. Take Me I'm Yours
3. Goodbye Girl
4. Medley: Squabs On Forty Fab
5. Cool For Cats
6. Model
7. Spanish Guitar
8. Up The Junction
9. Elephant Girl
10. Slap & Tickle
11. Another Nail In The Heart
12. Trust
13. Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
14. Yap, Yap, Yap
15. Is That Love?
16. Fortnight Saga
17. Tempted
18. Wedding Bells
19. Black Coffee In Bed
20. What The Butler Saw
21. Annie Get Your Gun
22. Going Crazy
23. Introvert
24. Labelled With Love
25. Last Time Forever
26. Who's That
27. Hourglass
28. Vanity Fair
29. Christmas Day
30. Some Fantastic Place
31. Maidstone
32. Third Rail
33. Discipline
34. This Summer
35. Electric Trains
36. Periscope
37. All's Well
38. Heaven Knows
39. Domino
Now, I don't have Suites from Five Strangers, but I think it's available on another compilation set. Any other thoughts on this track listing?

Monday, September 19, 2005

Squeezed to play Ickleford next Sunday

Be there! Here's Pete (of Squeezed) with the lowdown:
SQUEEZED will be playing at The Cricketers pub in Ickleford, just down the road from Hitchin in North Hertfordshire, UK on Sunday 25th September.

SQUEEZED are the band that plays the fantastic music of the great Glenn Tilbrook and the great Chris Difford - we'll play most of the Squeeze singles plus a selection of great album tracks - Piccadilly, In Quintessence, Vicky Verky, Hits Of The Year, Someone Else's Bell, There At The Top, Messed Around.........and we may then get the acoustic guitars out to play songs like Elephant Girl, Maidstone........what more could you ask for!!

Kicks off at noon, finishes around 5pm - BBQ, childrens' entertainer etc - weather permitting we'll be playing outside, if not inside the pub or under a Marquee.

What a great family day out!!!! The adress:

The Cricketers
107 Arlesey Rd
Hitchin
Hertfordshire
SG5 3TH

Tel: 01462 432629

Tickets are £2 for adults and £1 for kids

Keith Wilkinson's new project releases album

David Bailey of Packet of Three, and of the Picture of the Week in our header, reports that former Squeeze bassist Keith Wilkinson has a new band, The White Fence. They've released an album, which you can find on this page, with sound samples.

I thought from the VH1 Bands Reunited special that Keith was working on writing children's books. (Not that you couldn't do both.) Anyone know if the books ever got published?

Scotland has its way with Jools (and sartorial report)

The Edinburgh Evening News interviews a witty Jools, wearing a "a black suit and skull and crossbones cufflinks," about the Jam House, the new club for which he will be the musical director. Jazz police, beware, sayeth Jools:
I think jazz is a big world and I'll have to be careful at the new club if the strict jazz police come round. There will be all sorts of music, from the blues to ska. I love the hard-core jazz audience, but I do want to appeal to a wider market as well. If people love music, they're not going to be limited to one sort of music.
He also mentions that he'd love to tape "Later" at the new place, the former home a BBC radio studio, but that's up to the money people.

I also have to make a correction. It was the Edinbugh Evening News that published the story I referred to in a previous post, not The Scotsman. The Scotsman does have its own article on the new club, but we have to pay to see it. (Oh, well.)

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Jools to head musical programming for Edinburgh venue

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that Jools will develop musical programming for the Jam House, a new Edinburgh venue that has just started construction, two years after developers proposed the plan for the historic building:

Plans to transform the former BBC building in Queen Street into the Jam House, a four-storey live music venue with three stylish bars and fine dining restaurant, dance floor and main stage, were unveiled today after a two-year wrangle with heritage chiefs.

[snip]

The Jam House - and in particular the Jools Holland connection - will plug a much-needed gap in Edinburgh's live music scene, (Edinburgh city councillor Tom Ponton) adds.

Jools has done similar work for the Jam House in Birmingham, according to the Evening News. The paper adds that heritage group Historic Scotland didn't like a proposal to tear down interior walls and a doctors' group worried that the entertainment would disrupt their own activities. But everyone's OK with it now, according to the paper.

Update, Sept. 19: I corrected the name of the newspaper who published this report.

Friday, September 16, 2005

I want Chris reviews!

I was kind of hoping that my Inbox would be inundated with reviews of the Chris Difford shows with Lisa Fitzgibbon by now. It is possible that my gremlins are just missing them. If you know where I can track them down, please leave a comment and give us a nudge in the right direction.

The Sydney Morning Herald Gets to know Glenn

There were two new things I learned about Squeeze from the Sydney Morning Herald. The first one was that Squeeze also was known as UK Squeeze in Australia, as well as the US, to avoid confusion with an Australian band called Squeeze. I wonder if any of those bands risked going to the UK as "American Squeeze" or "Australian Squeeze." The second new thing I learned was this from Glenn:
"The difficulty was writing outside the secure partnership which I had been in with Chris. When I was writing by myself the thing I found hardest was that I was very much influenced by the ghost of Difford looking over my shoulder … [he laughs] … I would try and second guess what he would think."
Nice article. Check it out while it lasts.

A Squeeze Fan Recommends?

In an earlier comment, Jiggy asks the Squeeze Reader:
Thanks for linking to my blog, I appreciate it. As you can probably gather from my brief review of the gig, I haven't really had the change to get into Squeeze yet. So I'm looking for some recommendations. Which album is a good starting point? I'm generally against "best of" releases though.
I've heard East Side Story is a great album, and it's produced by Elvis Costello which is a real plus for me as I'm a huge fan of his work.

In my e-mailed reply to him, I recommended any one of the multiple compilation CDs (I somehow missed the part about him not liking "best of" releases), and assured him that East Side Story is a very good starter album, as is Argy Bargy. I feel those are the most accessible albums. Babylon and On is also very accessible, but might give people the wrong idea about Squeeze. What do you, the Reader at home, think?

RocKwiz photoz, courtesy Jiggy

I have to thank Jiggy for photos from the set of RocKwiz, the television show scheduled to air in November. Jiggy explains what this show is:
RocKwiz is a weekly show which is on Saturday nights in Australia. There are 2 teams, and each team has 2 audience members and 1 celebrity. The celebrities change every week. So that was the first and most likely only time Glenn will be on the show.

That was actually my mate Peter sitting next to Glenn in one of the photos (2 of my mates actually made it on that episode, the guy on the other team was one of my friends as well).
The photos were taken by Jiggy's friend, Matt Trentini. Thanks! Good to see that Glenn is doing well in Australia.

The photos also are here. Matt, the photographer, also has a Web page.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Paul Carrack's "other band" releases album tomorrow in U.S.

That "other band" would be, of course, Mike + The Mechanics. FMQB reports that the latest Mike + The Mechanics record, Rewired, is due out in the U.S. Sept. 13, their first release since 1999. Strangely, Mike + The Mechanics don't seem to have a very obvious Web site, but Rhino Records verifies this CD is a rerelease of one released internationally last year.

Archived Glenn interview from May

Wisconsin Public Radio interviewed Glenn for their show To The Best of our Knowledge in May. Their page has an archived copy of the interview, which features extensive clips of music and a mention of One for the Road --- including its theme song. Glenn is in the second segment, so you have to sit through a little article about the international phenomenon of yodeling (including some hip-hop/country/yodeling). The show ends with an interview with John Wesley Harding about his novel.

Glenn Exposed by the ProJo!

A writer for the Providence Journal responds to David Segal's essay that mentions his Greatest Live Show Moments, exposing the fact that Glenn repeated that "schtick" (the walkabout) in every venue where it was physically possible. Segal never said it wasn't scripted, he just said it was an involving and crowd-pleasing moment that he never predicted would happen. And probably not at not at an acoustic show. And probably not with That Guy from Squeeze.

It reminds me of a the time that I tried to get my rock musician friend (veteran of a number of a bunch of bands that people actually paid to see) to go to a Tilbrook show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle in 2002. He declined to go --- probably expecting some nostalgia trip with a bunch of old people. My friend called me back the next day or the day after that after a detailed write up by the local influential scenester columnist in the alternative weekly. He pressed me for details: The WHOLE CROWD really walked to the Lava Lounge, singing? He really played the whole set on crutches? Who played the guitars? (My answer: "Jon Auer (of The Posies) and some guy." My observation is verified by the scenester columnist.)

You know what? It's just one of those things. You totally just had to be there.

Glenn on Australian TV (in November)

Australian blogger Jiggy reports thatGlenn Tilbrook just taped a TV game show, RocKwiz. (Nice template, Jiggy.) There's a spoiler on that page, so don't click if you really don't want to know who won. Jiggy also files a review of Glenn's Saturday show in Melbourne.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

You kids and your fancy music players...

...back in my day we had record players. They scratched and hissed and popped but we felt lucky to have them. We had to hand crank the electricity if we wanted to play them. We didn't have any of your new-fangled ipod thingamadoochies.

So here's a link to a podcast that describes itself thus:
Coverville 46: The Squeeze Cover Story Download

Coverville is sponsored by iPodderX. Feed your iPod by getting your copy of the #1 podcasting macintosh client today at iPodderX.com!

The musical history of the UK Britpop band Squeeze - tonight's "cover story":

"Take Me I'm Yours" - White Rabbit (originally Squeeze)
"Another Nail For My Heart" - Rubber (originally Squeeze)
"Tempted" - Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra (originally Squeeze)
"Up The Junction" - Goldfinger (originally Squeeze)
"Labelled With Love (I'll Stay With My Dreams)" - Kevin Rowland (originally Squeeze)
"End Of A Century (live)" - Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford (originally Blur)
"Red Light" - Squeeze (originally Merrill Moore)
You might have to scroll down to find the link. I haven't listened to it yet, but it looks interesting. I've heard the End of a Century cut before, it's great.

I'll hard link to the MP3 file here and we'll see how long it works.

Geoff Martyn blogs on Chris Difford

All these words mean nothing... is the blog of a performer in the UK named Geoff Martyn. I haven't heard of him, but that might only mean that I'm old, American, and unhip. Because that's what I am.

Anyway, he writes about going to a Chris Difford gig and a writing week. He points to a picture of Chris, here.

Glenn's Opening Act Tour Blog

Back in May, when Glenn toured the States, one of his opening acts was Gabriel Mann. He blogged about it, here's how it goes.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Random Squeeze Blog Mention

Mention Squeeze on your blog and I'll link to it.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Packet of Three and Squeeze Reader team up!

A big thank you and warm welcome goes out to David Bailey --- Web master of Packet of Three, author of the discography in the Six of One booklet, and Squeeze historian extraordinaire! As you can see from the tweaks we've made to the site, the Squeeze Reader is partnering with Packet of Three to bring you a weekly image of Squeeze from David's collection. I'm honored that he is willing to share the Squeeze-love with us and other Squeeze fans.

What do non-uber-fans think of Squeeze?

If you were ever curious here's your chance to see a bit of a Squeeze debate among non-fanatics, as foreign an idea as that may seem.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Difford dates with Lisa Fitzgibbon

Ents24 lists a Chris Difford tour through September, with guest Australian singer Lisa Fitzgibbon on the bill. It's billed as the Song Teller Series, and I'm hoping for some reviews!

Sun 11 Sep Joogleberry Playhouse, Brighton
Tue 13 Sep The Fleece, Bristol
Wed 14 Sep The Musician, Leicester
Thu 15 Sep Halfmoon Putney, London SW15
Fri 16 Sep Quay Arts Centre, Newport
Wed 21 Sep Riga Music Bar, Southend-on-Sea
Thu 29 Sep (with Mabel Blue) Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
Sat 1 Oct Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

Rob earlier posted a Sept. 10 date as well, at Aldershot. Chris Difford's site doesn't seem to list these dates, but Lisa Fitzgibbon's site does, as well as links to the various venues....

Glenn on Hendrix on BBC Radio 2

An interviewer asks Glenn Tilbrook about Jimi Hendrix's sex appeal on the BBC's radio documentary "Jimi Hendrix - Made in London". In that very informative documentary (for those of us who don't already know that much about Hendrix), Glenn also talks about Hendrix's long influence on himself as a 12-year-old budding guitarist and as a 48-year-old professional performer. (Thanks, David Bailey, for the heads up!)

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Faces of the week, names, not so much

BBC: Faces of the week
Born in 1958, Julian Miles Holland began to play boogie-woogie piano at just eight after being taught the rudiments by his Uncle Dave.

"I just spent hours and hours sitting at the piano," he once explained, "trying to make that noise and I think that is what most people who are successful musicians do. They hear a thing as a child and try to make that sound."

By the age of 15, he had left school and teamed up with Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Gifford to form Squeeze.
What is it with journalists not getting their names right?

Friday, September 02, 2005

Washington Post chat brings out Squeeze fans (updated post)

Monday's online chat with David Segal is evidence of two hypotheses about Squeeze: 1) there are a lot more Squeeze fans than one might think or 2) Squeeze fans are insatiable and they come out with the slightest provocation. These theories are not mutually exclusive.

Updated: 9/3
I forgot to quote the best bit:

David Segal: Hall of Fame? Hell yes. If Loverboy is in the Hall of Fame, why not Squeeze?

....

Oh, wait, Loverboy is not in the Hall of Fame. Forget that. I think Squeeze is great. I also think that the Hall of Fame is not the ultimate measure of a band's excellence. I mean, the Sex Pistols are not in the Hall. Go figure.

Unofficial dates beginning to look tour-ish?

Or at least quick-sweep-ish. The enterprising Gill from the Glenn list compiled a list of unofficial dates from odd e-mail postings, venue listings and ticket agencies. None of these have been confirmed on the official site.

Weds 16 November, the Limelight, Crewe
Thurs 17 Nov - Birkenhead
Fri 18 Nov - 100 Club, London
Sat 19 Nov - Boardwalk, Sheffield
Mon 21 Nov - Leicester Uni
Thurs 24 Nov - Charlotte's Yard, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Fri 25 Nov - The Lowry, Manchester
Sat 26 Nov - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Sun 27 Nov - Robin2, Bilston
Fri 2 Dec - King Tuts, Glasgow
Sun 4 Dec - The Raigmore, Inverness
Sunday 11 Dec - the Brook, Southampton
Mon 12 Dec - Aldershot
17 Dec - Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford
11 Feb 2006 - Waterside Ctr, Sale

Changes to Aussie Glenn Dates

Some of the dates and locations in Glenn's solo Aussie tour have changed. I don't know if we have many Australian readers, but here are the updates from Glenn's official site, with the changes in bold.

September:
Sat 3 Civic Hotel *location change* Bicton, WA
Mon 5 Northcote Social Club Northcote, VIC
Thu 8 Wellers Restaurant Kangaroo Ground, VIC
Fri 9 Continental Hotel Sorrento, VIC
Sat 10 Esplande Hotel St Kilda, VIC
Thu 15 Yallah Road house *date change* Albion Park, NSW
Fri 16 The Basement Sydney, NSW
Sat 17 The Brass Monkey Cronulla, NSW
Fri 30 Joe's Water Hole Eumundi, QLD

October:
Sat 1 St Paul's Tavern Brisbane, QLD

After the Australian dates, Glenn has a few official solo dates scheduled in the U.S. at the end of October in the NY/PA/NJ area. No word on whether the tour will be extended.

Well, all right. I might as well post those, too:

October
Mon 24 Tin Angel Philadelphia, PA  
Tue 25 Tin Angel Philadelphia, PA  
Wed 26 Watercolour Cafe Larchmont, NY  
Thur 27 Maxwell's  Hoboken, NJ  
Fri 28 Stephen's Talkhouse Amagansett, NY

No NYC dates. I guess it's easier to maneuver an RV through the burbs (if indeed Larchmont and Amagansett are suburbs)?