New radio interview (and no we're not dead!)

Where did the past four months go? Wow. Well, our boys are back on tour and they certainly are doing interviews. Like this one from the indie online music magazine Kweevak.com.

From the vaults: Watch Chris & Glenn on BBC London

"Still squeezing out sparks"


Imagine my panic when I read the headline on the BBC London site...

"... Squeezing out Sparks"?!!!

What on earth could have happened to the delightful Ron and Russell Mael?

I was about to launch an expedition to make sure that the electro-pioneers were safe and well, when I read the first paragraph:

" As English as they come and Londoners to boot: Lord Crowley meets songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook..."

Phew! That was a close one!

So imagine my delight to find that you can also watch Chris & Glenn chat to Lord Gary of Crowley (plus hear a bit of an acoustic take on 'Take Me I'm Yours').

The interview is from a couple of years back when Messrs Difford and Tilbrook were promoting their 'Song By Song' book at Borders.

I whooped a cry of happiness, put on my headphones and whipped out my copy Jim Drury's excellent 'Squeeze: Song By Song' book.

Lovely.


Read the article and watch Chris & Glenn chat to Gary Crowley here!


"Here's hoping they stay close and I wouldn't be too surprised if they end up working together in the future. And soon-ish too. Here's hoping anyway"- Gary Crowley

And they did! :0)

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.

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.

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)

The Phoenix promos Squeeze

Nice little article in the Phoenix before the shows at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston and the Melody Tent in Cape Cod.

Heroin addiction, alcoholism, neurosis, friends at each others’ throats . . . all the things you’d expect to encounter in a film about Metallica. But in the story of a generally cheerful pop group like Squeeze?

You gotta respect a writer that read the whole biography (or at least, can fake it well), but cheerful pop group? A quick glance at Singles 45 and Under (OK, I admit, I don't actually own this compilation and I had to fake this one by looking up the track list) has: a con artist, pregnancy and poverty, heartbreak (twice!), temptation and loneliness. Hm, and that's before we get to the second half. Actually, all those things mentioned in the part quoted above eventually become subjects of their songs. Had I time, I'd atually match the trouble with the song....
The Cape Cod Times also weighs in with a long interview, which also features Difford naming who he thinks are the best lyricists of his pop era.

American thoughts....

Chris Difford spoke with the Associated Press about the upcoming American tour. Read his thoughts on the failed VH1 reality show, giving away solo CDs, and the "boxing ring of silence."

I wonder if the Essential CDs and DVDs will be available for purchase at the shows? I think it would make a lot of sense, but since when did everything in Squeeze history have to make a lot of sense?

Also, I forgot to list their first American show! Not that it matters, because it's sold out (and according to an anonymous commenter (hi!) it sold out in two hours). They start their tour in the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, NH. That is going to be one busy two weeks. Wow.

Chris Difford's Five Favourite Song Crafters

Count Five: Chris Difford's Favorite Song Crafters

It's great having a surf through the old internet, and ending up on a beach soaked full of Squeeze news!

Spinner has a great article with our very own Chris Difford.

Read on!

As the lyric-writing half of the creative duo in pop group supreme Squeeze, Chris Difford has established his credentials as an authority on songwriting. That's why many don't consider it sacrilege to mention his and collaborator Glenn Tilbrook's names among the great English songwriting pairs such as Lennon and McCartney. Little wonder that fans of superior song craftsmanship are making Squeeze's upcoming tour one of the most anticipated reunion treks of the year. Difford gave Spinner some insight into what he might be listening to on the road via his examples of what makes good music.

1. The Beatles: Some of the first music I ever heard was the Beatles, growing up. And when I listen to 'With The Beatles' it just reminds me of getting ready for school in the morning and putting that record on the record player while I was getting ready and just feeling totally at home.

2. XTC: When I first heard them, I thought they were very deliberately complicated. But now when I listen to it I realize I don't think they're being complicated; they were just being themselves, which is a very honest way of making music.

3. Jellyfish: I was in Los Angeles making the Squeeze album 'Play' and that's when I got introduced to their music. What I really enjoyed about it was it looks into English music in a way I've never seen an American band do. They'd obviously been inspired by English pop music like 10cc and Queen.

4. The Feeling: They do a really amazing job of taking musical history and modernizing it, really. They're sort of lovingly reconstructing great songs.

5. Feist: Any track from the Feist album would be a good introduction for people to appreciate really well-constructed pop music. If somebody arrived on a spaceship and they said to me they wanted to hear something that was recent that conjured up what was good about writing songs, I think I would play them the Feist album.

... And I must say that they certainly are great choices :0)


Text- Steve Baltin, and the original article can be found right here.


Now dive into these wonderful waters of the world wide web:

Chris Difford- Website
Chris Difford- MySpace

Guilfest chat

Chris and Glenn appeared on BBC Radio 2 to talk about Guilfest. (I presume before Guilfest.) I don't know what they're saying, since I don't have Real Player, but I hope it's good.

Chris talks about Squeeze & Guilfest

"it's going to be great!"

From Ents24:

Original Squeeze members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook took everyone by surprise earlier this year, when they announced that they were getting back together and heading off on tour. But first, they'll be headlining the BBC Radio 2 Stage at this year's GuilFest on Saturday 14th July. Meg Rowell spoke to Chris ahead of their appearance.

It's not been all that long since Squeeze decided to get back together, how's it all going?

Well, since we decided to get back together, Glenn's been in Australia and we haven't really seen each other! He's back this week, but I'm in Italy and back next week, so - I think it's going to be fine! I think it's going to be wonderful in fact.

I guess you haven't had much of a chance to rehearse together then?

No, nothing at all! We're just talking about who's going to be in the band, setting up rehearsals and warm-up shows, you know getting the technicians together for the tour...but it's all very exciting news for us.

Was getting back together a tough decision to make, or a natural progression for you both?

It was a natural progression really, brought on by the release of our greatest hits album (The Essential Squeeze) by Universal, who decided that they'd spend this year re-releasing our back catalogue and we thought, well, we've got a break in our calendars as solo artists, so we thought we'd come out and support our history, which is essentially what we're doing.

You're headlining GuilFest this year, are you looking forward to it?

Yeah, I've never been to GuilFest, I've been to most other festivals but it's one I've not been to, though it's very close to me so yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

It will be the first time you've performed together, as Squeeze, since 1998, it must be quite exciting?

Yeah, it is, it's going to be great - I'm saving up for an electric guitar as we speak!

You say that you and Glenn haven't had a chance to spend much time together, but do you think the chemistry will be the same between you both?

I have every reason to believe that it will be, you know, we grew up together, we've been friends for 26, 27 years or whatever it is. I think it's like getting back on a horse - you remember how to put your feet in the stirrups once you're up there.

Glenn played a solo slot at last year's GuilFest. Has he given you any tips?

As I say, I really haven't had a chance to talk to him, but a friend of mine went to see him last year and said the audience were amazing, so I'm really looking forward to it. I hear it's a real family kind of show - which suits me down to the ground.

There are some great bands on the line up this year - is there anyone you're particularly looking forward to?

I'd like to know who are playing! I know Madness are playing and Supergrass, who I'd love to see, but I haven't been told about anyone else yet!

Well, there's The Magic Numbers, The Ordinary Boys, Richard Thompson, Saw Doctors...

Oh wow! Excellent! I'll be up all night!

So, can we expect all the old classics from Squeeze, or have you got some new material up your sleeves?

It'll be wall-to-wall classics, I promise.

As you said, you're about to release The Essential Squeeze album; it must be satisfying to be able to collect together, and look back at everything you've achieved over the years.

It is. It's very warming to understand the kind of history that we've had together, it's quite something when you reach a certain age and you can look back and reflect on your life and feel very proud of it, so yeah, I'm very fond of what we have.

And then you're off on the Quintessential Tour this November...

Yeah, we're doing some dates at the end of the year, again to support the Essential Squeeze package, we've also got an American tour that we're doing, so it's going to be a busy year one way or another. I'm working on my solo album, Glenn's working on his, so we're very busy boys.

GuilFest has a reputation for nurturing young talent, and always has a lot of up-and-coming bands on its bill - do you have any advice to offer them?

Keep in tune and stay off the acid! No, I think a young band just has to enjoy the moment really. I don't think many people are that paranoid about doing shows anymore. When I was young, it used to terrify me, but I think younger people are more cool about what they do now, so my advice is just to enjoy it.

Squeeze will be headlining the BBC Radio 2 Stage at this year's GuilFest on Saturday 14th July. For more details, see the GuilFest page here on Ents24.

Original article: Squeeze's Chris Difford Talks To Ents24
Dated: June 6, 2007

Squeeze in Uncut & Mojo Magazine

READ ALL ABOUT IT!


It's all go on the Squeeze front, isn't it?!!!

Messrs Difford and Tilbrook feature in TWO magazines this month.

Firstly, Uncut Magazine examines the making of 'Up The Junction' in a lovely three-page spread.

And if that wasn't enough, Mojo Magazine devotes a rather glorious SIX pages to our favourite group.



Both Uncut and Mojo are UK magazines but subscriptions for overseas readers are available:

Uncut Magazine - Subscription
Mojo Magazine - Subscription

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!"

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.

Video interview with Glenn!

Glenn chats Down Under!

Yes, our very own GT gives a fine interview to those nice people at undercover.com.au, whilst reclining on a zebra*

*Well a zebra is a bit of an expansion of the truth, but it sounds rather good doesn't it?!!

Anyway, Glenn talks about lots of things including:

His 30 years in music, One For The Road,
working with other songwriters like Ron Sexsmith, his relationship with Chris, the Crowded House/Squeeze tour rumours, the idea of a new Squeeze album, the Squeeze tour line up, those Lennon & McCartney comparisons, his solo career and upcoming album... complete with lots of great chat about the songs!

Undercover's Interview with Glenn

After watching that, I really think GT should call his next album The Title's Always The Last Thing! :0)

PS- Great to see a Super Furries T-shirt!


Thanks to Helen from the Glenn_List for the link to the video.
Check out her GT Reviews site here!

The Official Glenn Tilbrook Site
Babylonandon - The Unofficial Glenn Tilbrook Website
The Official Squeeze Website

Difford on duff lyrics- I’d like to teach the world to cringe

So what do you think are the world's worst pop lyrics?...


Well Life by Des'ree must feature in pip's personal top ten..

" When there's no one else around
Oh I get the shivers
I don't wanna see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast"

Erm... yeah!



Anyway Mr Difford features in an online article that talks about those lyrics that you'd quite happily throw in the nearest river (weighted down and padlocked in a safe for good measure!)

I'd Like To Teach The World To Cringe (The Times)

A snippet:
"Squeeze’s Chris Difford knows a thing or two about separating good lyrics from bad. Revered by Lily Allen and Jamie T for Up the Junction and Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) , Difford has also hosted a string of songwriting get-togethers that have attracted the likes of Cathy Dennis and Suggs. “There’s a difference between choosing a bad lyric and a bad melody,” Difford argues. “I think most of us would agree what constitutes a poor tune and, as a result, they tend not to stick in the mind too long. But a lot of good tunes with bad lyrics end up becoming successful.”

Difford couldn’t possibly be pushed to name examples. Oh, all right then, just a couple. He endeavours to keep a straight face when a couple of Sting clunkers are thrown his way, in particular the Police’s Don’t Stand so Close to Me : “He starts to shake and cough/ Just like the old man in/ That book by Nabokov.”

“Well, it’s very Sting, isn’t it?” smiles Difford. “He’s not always the greatest lyricist — although, in fairness, you can’t knock a song like Message in a Bottle ."

Mr D, you are a gent!


The Official Chris Difford Website

Glenn's Down Under!

Like Men At Work once sang (well, sort of) ...

Glenn's in a land down under!

As you know, the Australian leg of Glenn's tour kicks off on March 30th!

He talks to The Age about reconnecting with people, being a one man spontaneous pop jukebox and gives the brilliant Squeezed tribute band a namecheck :0)

You can read all about it by clicking the wonderfully crafted link here.

One line jumps out at you:

"But fans know that Cool For Cats, their cockney novelty hit of '79..."

Have we ever seen Glenn & Chris in the same room *and* at the same time as Chas N'Dave?!!!

I think questions need to be asked! ;0)

"... is but one jewel in a cornucopia of brilliantly crafted English songs often mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles, the Kinks and Elvis Costello and the Attractions."

A nice save for those folks at The Age!

Here's some links for those hungry for Tilbrook Tidbits:
Glenn's Official Site
Glenn's MySpace
One For The Road (One man, Two guitars and an RV!)
Babylonandon- The Unofficial Glenn Tilbrook Site

Watch Chris on your computer!

As we at the Squeeze Reader search the web high and low for nuggets of Squeeze joy... we came across a great little video of Chris Difford talking about 'South East Side Story', the key to the success of Squeeze and how he'd like to flex his creative muscle in Nashville.

You can watch the video here, and enjoy three-and-a-half* minutes in the company of Mr Difford.

*Well it's 3 mins 43 seconds really- we like to give our loyal readers a bonus ;0)

the wit and wisdom of jools holland

in five minutes, courtesy The Independent. From the article:

The best age to be is...
People are always saying tomorrow will be all right or years ago was good, but in actual fact we need to be in this moment.