Happy Birthday Glenn!

Glenn hits the nifty fifty!

Yes, Mr Tilbrook has hit his half century today!

Join us at squeeze reader towers as we celebrate his birthday with a big smile and an even bigger glass of wine (or three ;0)

There's plenty of food to go around and we'll be getting out the Twister in half an hour!

(Though I hope I don't get stuck with my left foot on the red circle, left hand on the yellow and right foot on the black again- ouch!)



Happy Birthday to the Woolwich Wonder!

Mountain Winery Review & Setlist

A Bit Of A Mountain Whinery!

It's near the end of the late shift here at Squeeze Reader Towers (UK).

As I sit looking out at the starry sky, I'm just about to power down my computer, when I hear a "ding!"

YES! We have some Squeeze news neatly landing in my inbox!

Lovely Squeeze Reader Chris Baker, has sent in a link to a review of the Mountain Winery Show:

"Without Holland or Carrack around, Tilbrook was unquestionably the star of the show, and his guitar solos showed the same melodic verve as his vocals. During the closing “Black Coffee in Bed,” he was effusive in his excitement about the show and the entire tour, pointing out that five years ago he and Difford were more likely to be involved in a knife fight than to share a stage. But on this night, anyway, there was a lot of love going around."

The review seems more preoccupied with the ex-Squeeze members who weren't there... and (even though I was on the other side of the big pond), to say this about Chris Difford's singing:

"...rather monotonal vocals were nothing exceptional"

does deserve a big slap in the mouth with a well-oiled croissant.

At least the review credited Stephen 'Lord' Large as "versatile...making a good impression" and said that Squeeze (and their support band) Fountains Of Wayne, were "... simply about songs, and the two bands delivered enough tasty pop to satisfy any musical sweet tooth"


Here's the setlist (courtesy of The Mercury News article):

Take Me I’m Yours / Up the Junction / Footprints / Piccadilly / I Think I’m Go Go / Love Circles / Another Nail From My Heart / Electric Trains / Some Fantastic Place / Messed Around / This Summer / Annie Get Your Gun / Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken / Slightly Drunk / Goodbye Girl / Hourglass / If I Didn’t Love You / Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) / Slap and Tickle / Cool for Cats // Tempted / Is That Love / Black Coffee in Bed


And as I watch the clouds slowly drift in front of the starry sky, I switch off my computer and make my way home, wandering if a well-oiled croissant should have been included in Cluedo?

If not, it most certainly should be.

A new Squeeze Forum

We love the internet!


It's a rainy day here at Squeeze Reader Towers...

The sun was nowhere to be seen, so I packed away the picnic hamper and with a heavy sigh retreived the hammock that once hanged happily between the two apple trees in the Squeeze Reader Garden.

Time to go back to the office...


Sitting in the opulent surroundings of Squeeze Reader Towers, I sipped at a nice cup of green tea and nibbled on a lightly buttered scone.

Then all of a sudden, the sun shone through the window and lit up my computer screen.

Putting down my scone, I glanced at my inbox to discover that there was a new Squeeze Forum on the web!

"Hurrah!", I gleefully shouted, and took a big bite of my scone.
And guess what? This scone tasted all the better for it.

New Squeeze Forum

Squeeze- Lighting Up The Beacon and seeing stars in NJ

There's nothing better than walking into Squeeze Reader Towers on a Summery Saturday afternoon and finding an inbox full of lovely letters from our readers :0)

As it's such a nice day here, I've decided to take my mail bag outside into the Squeeze Reader Garden and have a picnic... C'mon you're all invited!



Squeeze reader Hernando Lammers, has sent in a link to his brilliant photos of our heroes playing the Beacon Theater:

Click here to see his Flickr album!


Ah, it's lovely to be sat under a tree having a picnic with you all.
There's enough tea and cakes here for everyone, so please eat, drink and be merry!




Now last (but not least), those nice people at Kweevak have sent in a link to their groovy review of the Starland Ballroom gig:

"Squeeze is tight. The reformed power popsters that took the stage on Monday, August 6, 2007 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey had a firm grip on their past as they tore through a rapid 90-minute set of their biggest hits."

Click here to read the complete review, with photos and setlist.


And with that, it's time to open up a nice bottle of wine and put some Squeeze on the boom box.


Hernando and Kweevak, we salute you :0)



If you'd like to send us any Squeeze tidbits, and see your name in lovely print, then please fire an email off to us at:

thesqueezeREMOVE THIS BIT IN CAPITALSreader@googlemail.com

Photos, setlists and more in our bulging mail bag!

I was sat at my desk in the glorious surroundings of Squeeze Reader Towers, when the postman presented me with a bulging bag of mail!

And what brilliant mail is is...


1. SOLD OUT AT THE BEACON!


Firstly, big thanks to squeeze reader Ian Siegel for this great photo of the Beacon Theater, NY.

It warms the heart to see Squeeze's name in lights :0)

2. STARS IN OUR EYES!

Smiling like a cheshire cat, I delved down deeper into the sack of mail to find a lovely link from Joe.

"So where does the link lead to?" I hear you ask...

... To some groovy photos from the Starland Ballroom gig!



Click here to see Skyco's photos on Flickr


3. Ringing In The Good Times At The Nokia!

And last (but by no means least), big thanks to Daniel, who has sent in the setlist for the Nokia Live show:

2007-08-02
Nokia Theatre
New York, NY USA

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:39:29]
01 Take Me I'm Yours
02 Slightly Drunk
03 Piccadilly
04 Hourglass
05 Up the Junction
06 I Think I'm Go Go
07 Third Rail
08 Electric Trains
09 Some Fantastic Place
10 Annie Get Your Gun
11 Melody Motel
12 Messed Around
13 Walk Away
14 Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken
15 Another Nail in My Heart
16 Goodbye Girl
17 If I Didn't Love You
18 Pulling Mussels From The Shell
19 Slap and Tickle
20 Cool for Cats
21 [encore break]
22 Tempted
23 Is That Love?
24 Black Coffee in Bed

And if you visit his site at nyctaper, then there's a wonderful surprise** waiting for you!

** The concert itself!

Ian, Joe and Daniel- we salute you :0)


If you'd like to send us any Squeeze tidbits, and see your name in lovely print, then please fire an email off to us at:

thesqueezeREMOVE THIS BIT IN CAPITALSreader@googlemail.com

Squeeze vs. The Police, a steel cage match!

Well, not quite. But a guy at the Huffington Post is very pointed in his assessment of Squeeze vs. The Police. I'm sure you all would guess where I would fall in this category.

My iPod seems to like the Police, despite my own tastes. I only have about one-quarter their greatest hits album on there, and in random shuffle often I have to skip through two of their songs to get to a band that I want to hear. (Why, yes, I do program my own iPod. But if I can't skip through songs occasionally, I don't feel like I'm really listening.)

Also, I gotta wonder about some of those commenters on that site. What was that one guy's point, that he likes Soundgarden? Non sequitur much? Maybe he just likes to drop in conversation that he likes Chris Cornell just kind of randomly. Sheesh.

Squeeze in a Roundup

Not a round up of Squeeze (sorry, this week has been busy preparing for next week's trip to the Bay Area to see Squeeze), but Squeeze got included in the San Jose-area's Metro includes them in a round-up:

Squeeze: BACK IN the '70s, an English band called Squeeze eked out a little niche somewhere between the New Wave pop rock of Elvis Costello and the British synth-pop of the Human League, but ironically scored their biggest with the comparatively earthy and soulful "Tempted." Founding members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook put the show back on the road, employing the help of longtime bassist John Bentley and other members of Tilbrook's touring band. (Mike Connor) Squeeze performs on Tuesday (Aug. 14) at 7:30pm at Mountain Winery, 14831 Pierce Riad, Saratoga. Tickets are $55–$85. (408.998.TIXS)

Is it just the former-academic-publishing-company-worker in me that finds it funny that the marriage of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, country singers also mentioned in that round-up, means that they are the McGraw-Hills?

Duelling Set Lists

In a comment, Rich of Massachusetts posted a different set list at the Boston show:

Now that I think about it, I'm certain "Cool for Cats" came after "Slap and Tickle." So here's the true setlist:

1. Take Me I'm Yours
2. Slightly Drunk
3. Piccadilly
4. Hourglass
5. Up the Junction
6. I Think I'm Go Go
7. Third Rail
8. Electric Trains
9. Some Fantastic Place
10. Melody Motel
11. Messed Around
12. Walk Away
13. Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken
14. Annie Get Your Gun
15. Another Nail in My Heart
16. Goodbye Girl
17. If I Didn't Love You
18. Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
19. Slap and Tickle
20. Cool for Cats

Encore

21. Tempted
22. Is That Love
23. Black Coffee in Bed

I don't know which of the Boston set lists is accurate. Can anyone else who went to the Boston show confirm?

New Jersey Praise

The paper that Tony Soprano takes liked the show at the Nokia Theatre, and promote the show that will in Atlantic City tonight. (Or maybe it's just the paper's blog? I can't tell from this.)

Not sure if the reviewer interviewed Glenn or not, or if Glenn said this as part of his stage patter:

"We haven't played any new songs tonight, because, well, there aren't any," said Tilbrook, no doubt a bit sensitive since he declared in 2004 that a tour without new songs is the "kiss of death."

He said that? Maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't remember that!
Anyway, the Star-Ledger continues:

But along with pitch-perfect renditions of such staples as "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" and "Hourglass," the band pulled out the more obscure "I Think I'm Go Go," roared through the power-pop of "Trust Me to Open My Mouth" and added a break to the new-wave drollery of "Cool for Cats" that was almost funky.

Daily Squeeze

So... there's a preview in the New York Daily News, where Difford gets in one or two quotes, but they are quintessential Difford, of course.

Boston set list :0)

A lovely squeeze reader has sent in the set list for Boston:

"Here is the set list from last night's Boston show. i think I missed a song, but this list is pretty complete.

They totally rocked!!!

1. Take Me I’m Yours
2. ….. … ?? missed it
3. Picadilly
4. Hourglass
5. If Its Love
6. I Think I'm Go Go
7. There's no tomorrow
8. Electric trains
9. Some fantastic place
10. This Summer
11. Messed Around
12. Walkaway
13. Slaughtered, Gutted & Heartbroken
14. Annie get your gun
15. Another Nail
16. Goodbye Girl
17. If I Didnt Love You
18. Pulling Mussls from a shell
19. Slap and Tickle

Encore

20. Tempted
21. Is that love
22. Black Coffee in bed"


Thank you! You rock :0)

Setlist from Cape Cod!

It's an exciting time to be a Squeeze fan isn't it?

As I was doing some in-depth research for today's blog (drinking coffee and looking through my inbox), I came across this...

Franny from the squeezefan Yahoo Group, managed to get a copy of the setlist:

Take Me I'm Yours
Slightly Drunk
Hour Glass
Up The Junction
Third Rail
Electric Trains
Some Fantastic Place
Melody motel
Messed Around
Walk Away
Slaughtered, Guttered, Heartbroken
Annie Get Your Gun
Another Nail
Goodbye girl
Piccadilly
If I didn't love you
Pulling Muscles
Slap & Tickle
Cool for cats
---------------
Tempted
Is that love
Black Coffee In Bed

Franny, we salute you :0)


If any squeeze readers out there would like to share their photographs, setlists, reviews or just their sheer joy of going to a Squeeze gig, then please send them to us via the power of email:

thesqueezeREMOVE THIS BIT IN CAPITALSreader@googlemail.com


Don't miss out! Sign up for the Squeeze mailing lists:
Squeezefan
Diffworld (For all things Chris Difford)
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Newsday interview

Newsday is a daily paper in New York, and this excellent interview has the best little summary of the life of Squeeze:

Mates in a band can be friends or they can be successful, and sometimes they can be both. Sometimes, they can't. For example, they can be Squeeze.

This is actually a really well-written little advance write-up of the New York shows, with some hearfelt words from Tilbrook, who declines to rule out a real reunion (at least, songwriter-wise). Check the article out.

First review in!

The Boston Herald gave them a thumbs up:

On occasion the band strayed from its Beatles template with mixed results. Some arty, spacey patches lost the crowd, but Tilbrook’s tight rockabilly and blues guitar licks brought them back mid-set. But mostly Squeeze stuck to its tried but not tired formula of indefatigable hooks, wowing the crowd with the great “Annie Get Your Gun” and another perfect pop tune, “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell).”

whet your appetites for some live shows

YouTube didn't let me embed the live version of Pulling Mussels. (Poo!) But here's a lip-sync from TOTP (I think?) back in the day to whet your appetites, and perhaps to scratch your head to:

All it took was reading a book

There I was, sat at my desk in the luxurious surroundings of squeeze reader towers and what should I see?...

A great picture of Chris & Glenn that I haven't seen before :0)

... And there's some writing too!

All it took was reading a book
Difford and Tilbrook reform as Squeeze

From Boston Now:

First they were friends, then they were band mates, then the band broke up and they stopped talking to each other altogether.

It's a simplistic way of looking at it, but that's how Glenn Tilbrook sums up his relationship with Chris Difford and the 80s hit-making machine they fronted, Squeeze.

Or at least that was his take on things before he started working with music journalist Jim Drury on a retrospective book on the band's career called Squeeze: Song by Song.

"I think I learned more about Chris from reading that book than I did in knowing him for 27 years," Tilbrook said. "So it started with getting to know each other again and eventually that led us to see if we wanted to play music together again."

Instead of heading into the studio to try and make new music, the pair got together with some of the musicians from their past and started playing the songs that made Squeeze a staple of the FM dial for so many years.

"The first time we actually saw each other in years was at a photo shoot for a best of CD they're putting out in the UK, which was a little embarrassing," he said. "Once we got into the rehearsal space and started playing, though, it all fell back into place pretty quickly."

While both Tilbrook and Difford have put together strong solo careers in the years since Squeeze officially broke up (1999), neither of them wanted to bring any of that material to the table for the current tour. "One of the things that's happened since we broke up is a lot of young musicians are telling us what a big influence we were on their music, which is great because it shows us what we write has stood up for itself over the years," he said. "So why not play it for the fans."

Squeeze play the Cape Cod Melody Tent tonight and the Bank of America Pavilion tomorrow.

Text: John Black

Squeeze Official Website
Squeeze Official MySpace

To everyone going to the Cape Cod & Bank Of America Pavillion concerts- have a great time :0)