the squeeze reader


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

Friday, May 11, 2007

Updated Dates

I'm catching up with news, and it looks like the U.S. tour is filling out-- nicely for us on the coasts, but maybe not so nicely for those of you in the interior states:

Squeeze U.S. dates:

July 31 - Cape Code Melody Tent - Hyannis, MA
August 1 - Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
August 3 - Beacon Theatre / New York, NY
August 4 - Borgata Music Box / Atlantic City, NJ
August 6 - Starlight Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
August 7 - North Fork Theatre at Westbury - Westbury, NY
August 8 - Pier Six Concert Pavilion - Baltimore, MD
August 9 - Wolf Trap Filene Center - Vienna, VA
August 11 - Concerts in the Park - Alpine, CA
August 12 - The Grove of Anaheim - Anaheim, CA
August 13 - Greek Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
August 14 - The Mountain Winery - Saratoga, CA

Wow. Looks like I got tickets for the last show, and at a winery to boot. That ought to be fun. I wonder if this gives Glenn any time to train to tackle Mt. Everest by October (or at least the trail leading up to base camp?).

The press release goes on to say that 1) Essential Squeeze is due out only in the UK at the moment, and 2) that The Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight (who?), and Lily Allen all cite Squeeze as influences. Has the Squeeze Reader ever mentioned the rest of the band? For the record: John Bentley on bass, Stephen 'Lord' Large on keyboards and Simon Hanson on drums.

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it's not like that on the TV (is it?)

Squeeze bloggers seem to pop up all over the place --- not bad for that legendary band that no one has heard of. Check out We Stayed in By The Telly which so far features Squeeze appearances from the early to mid 1990s, about the Frank and Some Fantastic Place era.

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Sunday, May 06, 2007

Photos of the new Squeeze line up!


Say Cheese!



Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook, Simon Hanson, John Bentley, Stephen Large



Giddy Up Squeezefans! It's a busy day at Squeeze reader Towers.

It might be the Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, but that doesn't stop the carefully oiled cogs and wheels that operate the presses here at the squeeze reader!

Those lovely people at the Official Squeeze website have put up four great pictures of the new line up...

Click on the gallery link, and together with some brilliant archive photos from packet of three, are the new ones!

Enjoy!




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Chris & Glenn on GMTV - Mon May 7 (UK)


Get Up With Chris & Glenn!

If you're in the UK then you can see Chris & Glenn on GMTV.

According to the Official Squeeze website, there will be an interview and acoustic performance.

The programme starts at 6am and finishes at 9:25 - so set your video recorders now!



Thanks to Sian from the Glenn_List for the heads up :0)

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Interview: Glenn & Chris In A Squeeze!


Steamin' Up The Room!


The internet is a marvellous invention, isn't it?

Rather than walk all the way down to the local shop, you can browse through the newspapers in the comfort of your own home whilst sipping at a nice cup of tea and munching on a muffin...

... Er, I mean being a hardworking member of the squeeze reader team, I have scoured the UK's Sunday newspapers to find you, (our lovely readers) all the latest scoops on Messrs Difford & Tilbrook!

So without further ado, here's an interview from The Sun:


"FROM 1974 to 1999, Squeeze were one the longest-running and most beloved bands on the British rock circuit with hits including Cool For Cats, Up The Junction, Hourglass and If It's Love.

Now singer Glenn Tilbrook and lyricist Chris Difford have put past differences behind them to reform

Here they chat about their upcoming tour, reveal why they get on better when they're apart and give their tips on getting girls to strip off.

And click the name of any song above to remind you of their amazing videos, taken from new release Essential Squeeze.

What led to your decision to reform Squeeze after all this time?

Glenn - Mainly the fact that Universal are re-releasing all of our back catalogue, which we've been on at them to do for years.

Squeeze have become a legendary band without ever achieving legendary sales.

Acts like The View, Lily Allen, Jamie T and Razorlight are saying we've influenced them, it's happening more now than at any time in our careers.

So I hope that younger people now discover lots of songs and albums of ours - as there's lots of mileage in records that we are very proud of.

Plus we're getting paid much more now than we ever got paid before!

Which is the one Squeeze album you'd recommend everyone should have when they are re-released?

Glenn - Some Fantastic Place is a really strong album.

Chris - For people discovering us through bands like The View, I would say Argybargy because of the enthusiasm of that record.

I played a gig for what I was told was an 'NME crowd' recently and I was terrified. But all these 19 and 20-year-olds knew all the words.

I was astounded - they were like my children. Well not literally my children…

Glenn - Well, you have been in the business a long time. You've met a lot of ladies!

When you first formed did you ever think teenagers 30 years later would be singing your songs?

Glenn - We never thought that, but I did think we'd be successful and was surprised we weren't more successful. Then I grew up a bit!

I've always had tons of confidence and blind faith and that's stood us in good stead.

Are you looking forward to playing together again?

Chris - Definitely. The last time we played shows as Squeeze was back in 1998. So we've got a lot of practice to do before our tour in November and festival appearances this summer.

Glenn - Chris and I didn't get on for a long time and I think it's fair to say there was a lot of bitterness when we broke up, on my side at least.

But that's all gone away now and not playing together actually saw our friendship enhanced.

We get on better now than any time from when we first met.

Jools Holland was your keyboard player for quite a few years - will he playing with you on tour?

Glenn - Not so far as I know. His touring schedule completely clashes with ours.

What are your favourite memories of being in Squeeze?

Chris - I wish I could remember what it was like to be on stage at places like Maddison Square Garden, but I can't as it's diluted in my memory somewhere.

This time around I am hoping to enjoy doing all that stuff and remember it.

Glenn - I just keep on thinking of really stupid things.

I think it's probably when I first met Neil Finn of Split Endz and Crowded House, and he told me a good way to get a girl to take her clothes off was to run a shower in your room and put a towel down so the whole room steams up.

Finally - what are your hopes for the future?

Both - To steam up as many rooms as possible!"

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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Glenn featured on The Lords First XI

Stick Around A Bit!

As you know, Glenn teamed up with Lord Large (that's Stephen Large from The Fluffers!) on the fantastic 'Don't Stick Around Too Long Single'... and now you can see him in a super video that showcases the album 'The Lords First XI'!




Click here to watch the video!


... And if you like what you see, then pop on over to:
Lord Large on MySpace

Lovely.

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Glenn is King Of The Road! (Sydney Morning Herald)

Forever searching for Difford & Tilbrook goodies, the good ship 'squeeze reader' has been trawling through the cyberspace sea... and from the shores of Australia, we dug this out of our net!...

Once a rock star, Glenn Tilbrook is now king of the road

(but not the middle).


GT talks to The Sydney Morning Herald.



The high life of a rock'n'roller, we know it well: the glamour of first-class travel and accommodation, the firm young things at your fingertips, the primping and preening of dozens of minions before your every public appearance.

And when you've been playing music publicly for 34 years, when you've had Top 10 hits on three continents, when your former, long-time songwriting partnership was described as the best Britain had produced since Lennon and McCartney, well that's the life you'd be living wouldn't it, Glenn Tilbrook?

Not exactly, no. These days Tilbrook, for two decades one half of the partnership, with lyricist Chris Difford, behind pop gems for the band Squeeze ( Tempted, Up The Junction, Pulling Mussels, Cool For Cats) prefers to do his touring in what could kindly be called a mobile home, or less kindly a glorified caravan.

He does it regularly around the United States and Europe and this month the Londoner is driving up and down the east coast of Australia with partner and children, stopping occasionally to play a show or two. Sheesh, where's the glamour in that?

"I've had the make-up person, I've had the wardrobe person and all that stuff. On one level that's great but the basic way of touring is very down-to-earth and it reconnects me to why I first started playing music," Tilbrook says. "Once Squeeze turned professional and started being successful, I lost touch with that. In the early '90s, when Chris and I were still together, I started doing gigs by myself and I re-found that other thing and now it's my solo career. It has taken over and I don't mind. I'm 49 and I'm enjoying it."

This way of life is also a straightforward way of accepting your place in the world when you're no longer this month's hot act but you have an audience and you want to play. Nonetheless, the unpretentious nature of the touring reflects the way Tilbrook performs. His relaxed, story-filled and often hilarious shows not only have familiar song after familiar song, they also embrace the audience in the kind of bonhomie which transforms venues into Tilbrook's living room.

"You can't change that; that's the way I am and I feel lucky for it," he says. "I definitely think some of the people who could be in my position, who were more successful in the past, could do what I do but they feel a certain amount of professional pride. I don't think that way."

All this makes more sense, too, when you realise that even at the height of Squeeze's fame - and when they were big they were selling out arenas across the US - the flash suits and fancy hairdos were never really Tilbrook's style.

Link to article.

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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Oldbitey sang with Glenn in Australia?

So it would seem.

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Adam Hearts Glenn

Inside Bay Area - Fountains of Wayne shows versatility
Q. Was there a time when you wrote sincere, confessional songs from the heart?

A. I think when we were starting out, it was more about imitating our songwriting heroes. We would try to write songs like Neil Finn or we would try to write songs like Ray Davies or we would try to write songs like Glenn Tilbrook.

Q. I see that you'll be playing with Tilbrook's band, Squeeze, at the Mountain Winery.

A. We are doing a bunch of dates with them this summer. ... Actually one of the most flattering things that's happened to us is that Glenn Tilbrook started playing "Red Dragon Tattoo" in his own set.

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Glenn & Chris on Capital Radio Gold (May 5)

Hot Off The Press!

From the Official Squeeze website:

"Glenn and Chris are on David Jenson's show on Capital Gold this Saturday (5 May) morning."

Get tuned in!

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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

A Sign of the Re-Issue?

VH1 has updated their list of Squeeze albums to include "Japan Bonus Tracks." Is the re-issue on it's way?

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