Squeeze
Encyclopedia
Squeeze are a British
band
that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave
period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s. They are known in the UK for their hit
song
s "Cool for Cats
", "Up the Junction", "Tempted", "Labelled With Love
", "Black Coffee In Bed
", "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
", and "Hourglass". Though not quite as commercially successful in the U.S.
, "Tempted", "Hourglass" and "853-5937
" were all American chart
hits for Squeeze, and the band have a dedicated following there and continue to attract new fans. All of Squeeze's hits were written by band members Glenn Tilbrook
and Chris Difford
.
The group formed in Deptford
, London in 1975, and first broke up in 1982. Squeeze then reformed in 1985, and broke up again in 1999. The band reunited for tours through the United States
and United Kingdom
in 2007, and this touring version of Squeeze has continued into the present day.
Difford and Tilbrook confirmed during interviews at the V Festival
in both 2008 and 2011 that they plan to produce a record of new Squeeze material. However, as of yet, no newly-written Squeeze material has been released or played live in concert.
Squeeze did release Spot The Difference
, an album of newly recorded versions of older material, in August 2010. The album contained classic Squeeze songs reproduced in such a fashion that fans are invited to 'spot the difference' from the original versions.
(guitar, vocals, lyrics), Glenn Tilbrook
(vocals, guitar, music), Jools Holland
(keyboards), and Paul Gunn (drums). The group played under several names, most frequently "Captain Trundlow's Sky Company" or "Skyco", before selecting the band name "Squeeze" as a facetious tribute to The Velvet Underground
's oft-derided 1973 album "Squeeze".
Gilson Lavis
replaced Gunn on drums and Harry Kakoulli joined on bass in 1976.
Squeeze's early career was spent around Deptford
in SE London, where they were part of a lively local music scene which included Alternative TV
and Dire Straits
. Though the group was initially signed to Miles Copeland III
's BTM Records, the label went under in late 1976, and so their early singles and debut EP
, 1977's Packet of Three
, were released on the Deptford Fun City label.
Squeeze's first EP and most of its self-titled debut album (1978) were produced by John Cale
for A&M Records
. Cale had been a member of Velvet Underground from whose album Squeeze took their name. However, the debut album's two hit singles ("Take Me I'm Yours
" and "Bang Bang") were produced by the band themselves, as the label found Cale's recordings uncommercial.
In the United States
and Canada
, the band and album were dubbed U.K. Squeeze due to legal conflicts arising from a contemporary American band called "Tight Squeeze". The "U.K." was dropped for all subsequent releases. In Australia
, the same name change was used due to legal conflicts arising from an existing Sydney-based band also called "Squeeze". Albums in Australia were credited to U.K. Squeeze up to and including Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
.
The band's second album, Cool for Cats
(1979), contained the band's two highest charting UK singles in "Cool For Cats" and "Up The Junction", both of which peaked at #2. John Bentley
replaced Harry Kakoulli on bass in 1979 following the release of the LP.
Argybargy
(1980), the band's third album, was also a UK hit. It was additionally a mild breakthrough in North America, as the single "Another Nail in My Heart
" was a #56 hit in Canada, and second single "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
" received airplay on U.S. rock
radio station
s.
Keyboardist Jools Holland left the band for a solo career in 1980. Keyboard duties were taken over by highly-rated singer-keyboardist Paul Carrack
, a former member of British soul-pop band Ace
, who scored a major international hit with the song "How Long." Carrack had also been a member of Roxy Music
.
In 1981 the band cut perhaps their best-known album, East Side Story. It was produced by Elvis Costello
and Roger Bechirian
, and featured Carrack's lead vocals on the radio hit "Tempted". Carrack himself left after the release of East Side Story, and was replaced by Don Snow
. This line-up recorded the Sweets From A Stranger
LP in 1982. Negative reviews, the stresses of touring, and conflict between band members led Difford and Tilbrook to break up the band later that year, after releasing a final single, "Annie Get Your Gun
".
Difford & Tilbrook
in 1984. Although it is not officially a Squeeze album, to many fans Difford & Tilbrook
is considered a "lost" Squeeze LP because Difford and Tilbrook were themselves the only constant members of Squeeze. Several Difford & Tilbrook tracks have been featured on officially-sanctioned Squeeze compilations
.
The duo also contributed to a musical written and staged in Deptford during this period, entitled Labelled with Love and based in large part on the music of Squeeze.
gig
in 1985, with all five members from the 1980 Argybargy period—Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Bentley. The performance was such a success that the band unanimously agreed to resume recording
and touring as Squeeze. Searching for a different sound, the band replaced Bentley with bassist Keith Wilkinson from the Difford & Tilbrook sessions. This line-up released the 1985 LP Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti.
The new LP featured complex double-tracked keyboard parts which could not be duplicated by a single keyboard player in a live setting, so Jools' brother Chris Holland played a few gigs as a second keyboardist in 1985. However, Chris Holland was quickly replaced by an official new member Andy Metcalfe
of the Soft Boys and The Egyptians
. A bassist in those groups, Metcalfe played keyboards with Squeeze. His tenure as the band's sixth member lasted until 1988.
In 1987, the sextet recorded the album Babylon And On. A successful release on both sides of the Atlantic, this album contained the band's only US top 40 hits in "Hourglass" and "853-5937".
Metcalfe left the band in 1988, leaving the Difford/Tilbrook/Holland/Wilkinson/Lavis line-up to record 1989's Frank. The LP was a commercial disappointment that spun off no charting singles in the UK, and the band was dropped from their long-time A&M label.
Adding a new second keyboard player in the person of Matt Irving
, the band issued the live album A Round And A Bout on I.R.S. Records
in March 1990. Jools Holland left Squeeze again in early 1990, and was not immediately replaced. In his stead, the band used session musicians such as Irving (who was no longer an official band member), Snow, Steve Nieve
, Bruce Hornsby
and Carol Isaacs for the 1991 release Play, which came out on the Reprise label. This release again spawned no UK hits, although in the US the singles "Satisfied" and "Crying In Your Sleep" received significant airplay on modern rock stations, and in Canada "Satisfied" was a top 50 hit. However, Reprise dropped the band after this one album. Then drummer Gilson Lavis was let go in 1992, and replaced by Nieve's fellow Attractions band mate Pete Thomas
. Paul Carrack also returned to the band in 1993, although by this point Squeeze was not so much a band as it was a trade name for Difford and Tilbrook plus sidemen
.
Squeeze re-signed to A&M in time for 1993's Some Fantastic Place. After a period of commercial decline in the UK, lead single "Third Rail" hit #39, becoming Squeeze's first UK Top 40 hit in six years.
Squeeze's lineup during the mid-1990s changed constantly. Though not an official Squeeze member, Aimee Mann
was featured on vocals and guitar at many Squeeze shows during 1994. Thomas also exited the band that year, and Carrack doubled on snare and keyboards for a few gigs before session drummer Andy Newmark
was brought in. Then – still in 1994 – Carrack left, which allowed keyboardist Andy Metcalfe to return to the band for a short spell, playing on some live dates. Drummer Kevin Wilkinson
(no relation to bassist Keith), formerly of The Waterboys
and China Crisis
, was also added around this time, replacing Newmark. He lasted through the 1995 album Ridiculous
, which was recorded by the quartet of Difford, Tilbrook, Wilkinson and Wilkinson. The album spun off three minor hits in the UK: "This Summer", "Electric Trains" and "Heaven Knows". ("Heaven Knows" was used as the closing song in the 1995 film Hackers
starring Angelina Jolie
.) As well, a minimally remixed version of "This Summer" became a #32 UK hit in 1996, a year after the original version peaked at #36. Despite this, A&M once again dropped Squeeze from their roster in late 1996.
Following the release of Ridiculous, Don Snow
(now known as Jonn Savannah) returned to Squeeze yet again as their touring keyboard player, but by 1997, the Squeeze line-up had officially dwindled down to just Difford and Tilbrook. That year the duo, billed as Squeeze, released the non-album single "Down In The Valley" as a fundraising single for Charlton Athletic F.C.
Tilbrook formed the Quixotic label for this and future Squeeze-related releases, as well as releases by other artists.
For the 1998 album Domino, the band was again a quintet consisting of Difford, Tilbrook, bassist Hilaire Penda, ex-Del Amitri
drummer Ashley Soan, and yet another returning keyboardist in the person of Chris Holland. Nick Harper
often performed with this version of Squeeze, providing additional guitar and vocals. In January 1999, just days before a planned tour, Chris Difford suddenly announced that he was taking a 'hiatus' from Squeeze. The last venue for Squeeze with Chris was The Charlotte, Leicester, England. The band subsequently continued as a quartet led by Tilbrook, with Jim Kimberley replacing Soan on some tour dates, and Chris Holland exiting in the autumn
to be replaced by Tilbrook's other frequent writing partner Chris Braide
.
On 27 November 1999 in Aberdeen
, Scotland
, Squeeze played their final gig before breaking up again. Difford and Tilbrook embarked on separate solo careers shortly thereafter.
Jim Drury on the retrospective Squeeze: Song By Song. In this book they declared they had become better friends since breaking up the band than they ever were while Squeeze was together.
However, a 2004 attempt by the VH1
show Bands Reunited
to reassemble the mid-1980s line-up of Squeeze (Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Wilkinson and Lavis) ended in failure. While bassist Keith Wilkinson was favourable to the idea and drummer Gilson Lavis expressed some interest, Jools Holland felt he was too busy with current projects to participate, and, crucially, both Tilbrook and Difford expressed reservations about working together in a band context at that point in time.
Still, Difford and Tilbrook's friendship continued, and in December 2005 Difford sat in for a few songs at a Glenn Tilbrook solo gig in Glasgow.
On 7 July 2007, at the "Return to the Summer of Love Party," at Hawkhurst
, Kent
, Difford and Tilbrook, each singing and playing acoustic guitar
s, played a seven song set. They played, in order, "Take Me I'm Yours," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Is that Love?," "Tempted," "Labelled with Love," "Cool for Cats," and "Up the Junction." The first actual full-band Squeeze show since 1999 took place less than a week later at their old haunt, "The Albany" (Deptford) on Thursday 12 July which was actually billed as a "warm up" gig prior to the upcoming US tour, this was then followed by GuilFest
2007. They toured the U.S. in August 2007, supported on various dates by Fountains of Wayne
, Will Hoge
, Big Head Todd and the Monsters
, and Cheap Trick
.
In November 2007, the band released Five Live: On Tour in America, a live
CD
consisting of recordings from the American tour. The title referred to the number of people in the band, not the number of tracks on the 19-song CD. Television appearances and live shows in the U.S. and UK followed in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In January 2010 it was announced that Difford and Tilbrook would be spending part of the coming summer in Italy together writing songs for a new Squeeze album. In March 2010 the band were commemorated with a Heritage Award
by PRS for Music. A plaque was erected on the Dance Hall
in Greenwich
, London
where the band performed their first gig.
Squeeze embarked on their 'Spot The Difference' tour of the USA in July 2010, which continued in the UK in November and December. The CD Spot The Difference, a re-recording of Squeeze's classic hits, was released in August 2010 to accompany the tour.
On the US tour, during a performance of Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) live on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show, Stephen Large played the keyboard solo on an Apple iPad.
In September 2010, Stephen Large left the band and was replaced by Steve Nieve. Nieve had played as a session musician with Squeeze and Difford & Tilbook in the past, but had not – until this line-up change – ever been an official member of the group. However, within a matter of months, Large returned to the Squeeze line-up as Nieve left the band.
This line-up of Difford/Tilbrook/Bentley/Large/Hanson has continued to tour throughout 2011.
are included on this chart. All these singles have been reissued on various Squeeze compilations, and are retroactively credited on these compilations as being by Squeeze.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s. They are known in the UK for their hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s "Cool for Cats
Cool For Cats (song)
"Cool for Cats" was the second single released from Squeeze's Cool for Cats album. It featured a comparatively rare lead vocal performance from Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford, one of only two occasions he sang lead on a Squeeze single A-side...
", "Up the Junction", "Tempted", "Labelled With Love
Labelled With Love
"Labelled With Love" was the third single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. It was the last Squeeze single to reach the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #4 in 1981...
", "Black Coffee In Bed
Black Coffee In Bed
"Black Coffee in Bed" was the first single released from Squeeze's fifth album, Sweets from a Stranger. At the time of its release it was the longest Squeeze track ever issued, and it remains the only 7" Squeeze single over six minutes long...
", "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
"Pulling Mussels " is a new wave song by the band Squeeze. First released on the 1980 album Argybargy, it received positive critical reviews, peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of Squeeze's most popular songs...
", and "Hourglass". Though not quite as commercially successful in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, "Tempted", "Hourglass" and "853-5937
853-5937
"853-5937" written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, was the fourth UK single and the second US single released from Squeeze's seventh album, Babylon and On. While the track did not chart in the UK, it managed to reach number 32 on the US Hot 100 charts.In 1988 the London phone number 853...
" were all American chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hits for Squeeze, and the band have a dedicated following there and continue to attract new fans. All of Squeeze's hits were written by band members Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
and Chris Difford
Chris Difford
Chris Difford is a singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer....
.
The group formed in Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, London in 1975, and first broke up in 1982. Squeeze then reformed in 1985, and broke up again in 1999. The band reunited for tours through the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2007, and this touring version of Squeeze has continued into the present day.
Difford and Tilbrook confirmed during interviews at the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
in both 2008 and 2011 that they plan to produce a record of new Squeeze material. However, as of yet, no newly-written Squeeze material has been released or played live in concert.
Squeeze did release Spot The Difference
Spot the difference
Spot the difference is a name given to a puzzle where two versions of an image are shown side by side, and the player has to find differences between them. Usually, the image on the left is the original, and the image on the right has the alternates...
, an album of newly recorded versions of older material, in August 2010. The album contained classic Squeeze songs reproduced in such a fashion that fans are invited to 'spot the difference' from the original versions.
First incarnation: 1974–82
The band's founding members in March 1974 were Chris DiffordChris Difford
Chris Difford is a singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer....
(guitar, vocals, lyrics), Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
(vocals, guitar, music), Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
(keyboards), and Paul Gunn (drums). The group played under several names, most frequently "Captain Trundlow's Sky Company" or "Skyco", before selecting the band name "Squeeze" as a facetious tribute to The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's oft-derided 1973 album "Squeeze".
Gilson Lavis
Gilson Lavis
Gilson Lavis was the drummer for Squeeze from 1976 until 1992. More recently, he has been drumming for Jools Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra....
replaced Gunn on drums and Harry Kakoulli joined on bass in 1976.
Squeeze's early career was spent around Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
in SE London, where they were part of a lively local music scene which included Alternative TV
Alternative TV
Alternative TV were an English rock band, formed in London in 1976. Their punk rock and post-punk sound was influential for several musical artists.-History:...
and Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
. Though the group was initially signed to Miles Copeland III
Miles Copeland III
Miles Axe Copeland III is an American entertainment executive, best known for founding I.R.S. Records. His brother, Stewart Copeland, was part of the pop-rock trio The Police, which Miles managed...
's BTM Records, the label went under in late 1976, and so their early singles and debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, 1977's Packet of Three
Packet of Three
Packet of Three was the first release from the New Wave rock band Squeeze. It contained three songs produced by John Cale of The Velvet Underground, who also produced their self-titled debut LP the following year. Packet of Three was released in both 7" and 12" vinyl formats. The EP's title comes...
, were released on the Deptford Fun City label.
Squeeze's first EP and most of its self-titled debut album (1978) were produced by John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. Cale had been a member of Velvet Underground from whose album Squeeze took their name. However, the debut album's two hit singles ("Take Me I'm Yours
Take Me I'm Yours
"Take Me I'm Yours" was the first of many hit singles by the New Wave rock band Squeeze. It established the band's trademark vocal style, with Chris Difford singing an octave lower than Glenn Tilbrook. The song has been covered several times, including a unique take by Tim Curry on his 1981 album...
" and "Bang Bang") were produced by the band themselves, as the label found Cale's recordings uncommercial.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the band and album were dubbed U.K. Squeeze due to legal conflicts arising from a contemporary American band called "Tight Squeeze". The "U.K." was dropped for all subsequent releases. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the same name change was used due to legal conflicts arising from an existing Sydney-based band also called "Squeeze". Albums in Australia were credited to U.K. Squeeze up to and including Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti is a 1985 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's sixth album, and the first recorded since their breakup in 1982. It reunited songwriters Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford with drummer Gilson Lavis and keyboardist Jools Holland...
.
The band's second album, Cool for Cats
Cool for Cats (album)
Cool for Cats is the British new wave group Squeeze's second album, released in 1979. Cool for Cats contained more charting hit singles than any other album the band has released....
(1979), contained the band's two highest charting UK singles in "Cool For Cats" and "Up The Junction", both of which peaked at #2. John Bentley
John Bentley (musician)
John Bentley was the bassist for Squeeze from 1980 to 1982. He played on the albums Argybargy and East Side Story, generally considered to be the band's best by critics, as well as the darker and less acclaimed Sweets from a Stranger...
replaced Harry Kakoulli on bass in 1979 following the release of the LP.
Argybargy
Argybargy
Argybargy is a 1980 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It would be the last album featuring founding member Jools Holland until Squeeze's first reunion album, 1985's Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti....
(1980), the band's third album, was also a UK hit. It was additionally a mild breakthrough in North America, as the single "Another Nail in My Heart
Another Nail In My Heart
"Another Nail in My Heart" is a 1980 song by the new wave band Squeeze. Written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, it was released on the album Argybargy, received positive critical reviews, and charted in the United Kingdom and Canada...
" was a #56 hit in Canada, and second single "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
"Pulling Mussels " is a new wave song by the band Squeeze. First released on the 1980 album Argybargy, it received positive critical reviews, peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of Squeeze's most popular songs...
" received airplay on U.S. rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s.
Keyboardist Jools Holland left the band for a solo career in 1980. Keyboard duties were taken over by highly-rated singer-keyboardist Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
, a former member of British soul-pop band Ace
Ace (band)
Ace were a British rock music band, who enjoyed moderate success in the 1970s. They are notable for their part in the early career of Paul Carrack, who later became famous as a solo artist, and as a member of several other groups...
, who scored a major international hit with the song "How Long." Carrack had also been a member of Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
.
In 1981 the band cut perhaps their best-known album, East Side Story. It was produced by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
and Roger Bechirian
Roger Bechirian
Roger Béchirian is a noted engineer and record producer, a key player in the 70’s new wave scene best known for his work with Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Elvis Costello, The Undertones, Dave Edmunds, Squeeze, Trashcan Sinatras and more recently Bell X1....
, and featured Carrack's lead vocals on the radio hit "Tempted". Carrack himself left after the release of East Side Story, and was replaced by Don Snow
Don Snow
Don Snow is a vocalist, Hammond organist, pianist, guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer and saxophonist who is primarily known for his work with Squeeze, the Sinceros, Procol Harum and the new wave act The Catch...
. This line-up recorded the Sweets From A Stranger
Sweets from a Stranger
Sweets from a Stranger is the fifth studio album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. Its surprisingly dark mood and what some perceived as relatively uninspired songwriting led to some of the band's least flattering reviews since their debut. The band split up soon after a world tour for the...
LP in 1982. Negative reviews, the stresses of touring, and conflict between band members led Difford and Tilbrook to break up the band later that year, after releasing a final single, "Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (song)
"Annie Get Your Gun" was a single released by the New Wave band Squeeze in 1982. It was not featured on any studio album, but has been included on a number of compilations, including Singles – 45's and Under...
".
Difford and Tilbrook years: 1983–84
Difford and Tilbrook continued to work together, and released one self-titled album as the duoDuet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
Difford & Tilbrook
Difford & Tilbrook
Difford & Tilbrook are the songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, known for their work as the principal writers for the New Wave rock band Squeeze...
in 1984. Although it is not officially a Squeeze album, to many fans Difford & Tilbrook
Difford & Tilbrook (album)
Difford & Tilbrook is the only studio album released by Difford & Tilbrook. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were the main songwriters in the New Wave band Squeeze until their 1982 breakup. The duo continued to write songs together, and in 1984 released this self-titled effort. When Squeeze...
is considered a "lost" Squeeze LP because Difford and Tilbrook were themselves the only constant members of Squeeze. Several Difford & Tilbrook tracks have been featured on officially-sanctioned Squeeze compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
.
The duo also contributed to a musical written and staged in Deptford during this period, entitled Labelled with Love and based in large part on the music of Squeeze.
Second incarnation: 1985–99
Squeeze re-formed to play a one night charityCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in 1985, with all five members from the 1980 Argybargy period—Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Bentley. The performance was such a success that the band unanimously agreed to resume recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and touring as Squeeze. Searching for a different sound, the band replaced Bentley with bassist Keith Wilkinson from the Difford & Tilbrook sessions. This line-up released the 1985 LP Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti.
The new LP featured complex double-tracked keyboard parts which could not be duplicated by a single keyboard player in a live setting, so Jools' brother Chris Holland played a few gigs as a second keyboardist in 1985. However, Chris Holland was quickly replaced by an official new member Andy Metcalfe
Andy Metcalfe
Andy Metcalfe is an English bassist, keyboardist and producer, who played mainly with The Soft Boys , Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians , and with Squeeze off and on during the period 1985-1994.He co-produced several of the Egyptians albums Andy Metcalfe (born 1956, Bristol, England) is an...
of the Soft Boys and The Egyptians
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
. A bassist in those groups, Metcalfe played keyboards with Squeeze. His tenure as the band's sixth member lasted until 1988.
In 1987, the sextet recorded the album Babylon And On. A successful release on both sides of the Atlantic, this album contained the band's only US top 40 hits in "Hourglass" and "853-5937".
Metcalfe left the band in 1988, leaving the Difford/Tilbrook/Holland/Wilkinson/Lavis line-up to record 1989's Frank. The LP was a commercial disappointment that spun off no charting singles in the UK, and the band was dropped from their long-time A&M label.
Adding a new second keyboard player in the person of Matt Irving
Matt Irving
Matt Irving is a musician perhaps best known as the bass guitar player for Manfred Mann's Earth Band between 1981 and 1986. He featured on the albums Somewhere in Afrika and Budapest Live...
, the band issued the live album A Round And A Bout on I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
in March 1990. Jools Holland left Squeeze again in early 1990, and was not immediately replaced. In his stead, the band used session musicians such as Irving (who was no longer an official band member), Snow, Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
, Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
and Carol Isaacs for the 1991 release Play, which came out on the Reprise label. This release again spawned no UK hits, although in the US the singles "Satisfied" and "Crying In Your Sleep" received significant airplay on modern rock stations, and in Canada "Satisfied" was a top 50 hit. However, Reprise dropped the band after this one album. Then drummer Gilson Lavis was let go in 1992, and replaced by Nieve's fellow Attractions band mate Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
. Paul Carrack also returned to the band in 1993, although by this point Squeeze was not so much a band as it was a trade name for Difford and Tilbrook plus sidemen
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
.
Squeeze re-signed to A&M in time for 1993's Some Fantastic Place. After a period of commercial decline in the UK, lead single "Third Rail" hit #39, becoming Squeeze's first UK Top 40 hit in six years.
Squeeze's lineup during the mid-1990s changed constantly. Though not an official Squeeze member, Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
was featured on vocals and guitar at many Squeeze shows during 1994. Thomas also exited the band that year, and Carrack doubled on snare and keyboards for a few gigs before session drummer Andy Newmark
Andy Newmark
Andrew "Andy" Newmark is an American musician, best known as a popular session drummer, and for playing with the funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1972 to 1973....
was brought in. Then – still in 1994 – Carrack left, which allowed keyboardist Andy Metcalfe to return to the band for a short spell, playing on some live dates. Drummer Kevin Wilkinson
Kevin Wilkinson
Kevin Wilkinson was a musician based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.- Career :Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, he is credited as a former official member of several successful British pop groups, including The League of Gentlemen , The Waterboys , China Crisis and Squeeze...
(no relation to bassist Keith), formerly of The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
and China Crisis
China Crisis
China Crisis is an English pop/rock band. They were formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon...
, was also added around this time, replacing Newmark. He lasted through the 1995 album Ridiculous
Ridiculous (album)
Ridiculous is an album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's eleventh studio album, and it introduces new drummer Kevin Wilkinson . As on the previous album, Some Fantastic Place, the band recorded one song penned by Keith Wilkinson. This time, however, Keith was not permitted to...
, which was recorded by the quartet of Difford, Tilbrook, Wilkinson and Wilkinson. The album spun off three minor hits in the UK: "This Summer", "Electric Trains" and "Heaven Knows". ("Heaven Knows" was used as the closing song in the 1995 film Hackers
Hackers (film)
Hackers is a 1995 American thriller film directed by Iain Softley and starring Angelina Jolie, Jonny Lee Miller, Renoly Santiago, Matthew Lillard, Lorraine Bracco and Fisher Stevens...
starring Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
.) As well, a minimally remixed version of "This Summer" became a #32 UK hit in 1996, a year after the original version peaked at #36. Despite this, A&M once again dropped Squeeze from their roster in late 1996.
Following the release of Ridiculous, Don Snow
Don Snow
Don Snow is a vocalist, Hammond organist, pianist, guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer and saxophonist who is primarily known for his work with Squeeze, the Sinceros, Procol Harum and the new wave act The Catch...
(now known as Jonn Savannah) returned to Squeeze yet again as their touring keyboard player, but by 1997, the Squeeze line-up had officially dwindled down to just Difford and Tilbrook. That year the duo, billed as Squeeze, released the non-album single "Down In The Valley" as a fundraising single for Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
Tilbrook formed the Quixotic label for this and future Squeeze-related releases, as well as releases by other artists.
For the 1998 album Domino, the band was again a quintet consisting of Difford, Tilbrook, bassist Hilaire Penda, ex-Del Amitri
Del Amitri
Del Amitri were a Scottish pop-rock guitar band, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. The band grew out of Justin Currie's Jordanhill College School band and came together after teenager Currie placed an advertisement in the window of a music store asking for people who could play to contact him...
drummer Ashley Soan, and yet another returning keyboardist in the person of Chris Holland. Nick Harper
Nick Harper
Nick Harper is an English singer-songwriter/guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper.-Early life:Nick Harper was born in London in 1965 to the famous folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper...
often performed with this version of Squeeze, providing additional guitar and vocals. In January 1999, just days before a planned tour, Chris Difford suddenly announced that he was taking a 'hiatus' from Squeeze. The last venue for Squeeze with Chris was The Charlotte, Leicester, England. The band subsequently continued as a quartet led by Tilbrook, with Jim Kimberley replacing Soan on some tour dates, and Chris Holland exiting in the autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
to be replaced by Tilbrook's other frequent writing partner Chris Braide
Chris Braide
Christopher Braide is an English singer, songwriter, record producer published by Sony/ATV worldwide based in Los Angeles.Producer, Songwriter and Ivor Novello ASCAP and Billboard award winner Christopher Braide has achieved considerable success as a songwriter in the UK and the US. His songs have...
.
On 27 November 1999 in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Squeeze played their final gig before breaking up again. Difford and Tilbrook embarked on separate solo careers shortly thereafter.
Solo years: 2000–06
In 2003 Difford and Tilbrook collaborated on a song for the first time since Domino. The track, "Where I Can Be Your Friend," appeared on Tilbrook's well-reviewed second solo album, Transatlantic Ping Pong. In 2004 the pair worked with music journalistMusic journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
Jim Drury on the retrospective Squeeze: Song By Song. In this book they declared they had become better friends since breaking up the band than they ever were while Squeeze was together.
However, a 2004 attempt by the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
show Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented the attempted reuniting of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles....
to reassemble the mid-1980s line-up of Squeeze (Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Wilkinson and Lavis) ended in failure. While bassist Keith Wilkinson was favourable to the idea and drummer Gilson Lavis expressed some interest, Jools Holland felt he was too busy with current projects to participate, and, crucially, both Tilbrook and Difford expressed reservations about working together in a band context at that point in time.
Still, Difford and Tilbrook's friendship continued, and in December 2005 Difford sat in for a few songs at a Glenn Tilbrook solo gig in Glasgow.
Third incarnation: 2007-present
In early 2007 it was announced that Difford and Tilbrook would re-form Squeeze for a series of shows throughout the latter half of the year, in support of Universal and Warner's re-issuing of the band's back catalogue and the release of a new 'best of' album, Essential Squeeze, on April 30. Jools Holland and Gilson Lavis were unable to take part in the series of shows, as they were touring under the "Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra" name for most of the year. However, John Bentley re-joined on bass for the first time since Squeeze's last reunion show in 1985. The rest of the lineup was fleshed out by members of Tilbrook's touring band, The Fluffers: Stephen Large (keyboards) and Simon Hanson (drums).On 7 July 2007, at the "Return to the Summer of Love Party," at Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Difford and Tilbrook, each singing and playing acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
s, played a seven song set. They played, in order, "Take Me I'm Yours," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Is that Love?," "Tempted," "Labelled with Love," "Cool for Cats," and "Up the Junction." The first actual full-band Squeeze show since 1999 took place less than a week later at their old haunt, "The Albany" (Deptford) on Thursday 12 July which was actually billed as a "warm up" gig prior to the upcoming US tour, this was then followed by GuilFest
GuilFest
GuilFest, formerly the Guildford Festival of Folk and Blues is a music festival held in Stoke Park, Guildford, England each July. The festival, like the larger Glastonbury Festival, features a range of genres including rock, folk, blues, and in recent years pop...
2007. They toured the U.S. in August 2007, supported on various dates by Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...
, Will Hoge
Will Hoge
Will Hoge is an American singer, songwriter and musician from Nashville, Tennessee.-Early life:Will Hoge grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, a rural suburb south of Nashville...
, Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Big Head Todd & the Monsters is a rock band formed in 1986 in Colorado. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album Sister Sweetly going platinum in the United States...
, and Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
.
In November 2007, the band released Five Live: On Tour in America, a live
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
consisting of recordings from the American tour. The title referred to the number of people in the band, not the number of tracks on the 19-song CD. Television appearances and live shows in the U.S. and UK followed in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In January 2010 it was announced that Difford and Tilbrook would be spending part of the coming summer in Italy together writing songs for a new Squeeze album. In March 2010 the band were commemorated with a Heritage Award
Heritage Award
The Heritage Award is a ceremonial plaque installed in a public place to commemorate a link between a famous musician or music band and the location they performed their first live gig...
by PRS for Music. A plaque was erected on the Dance Hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where the band performed their first gig.
Squeeze embarked on their 'Spot The Difference' tour of the USA in July 2010, which continued in the UK in November and December. The CD Spot The Difference, a re-recording of Squeeze's classic hits, was released in August 2010 to accompany the tour.
On the US tour, during a performance of Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) live on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show, Stephen Large played the keyboard solo on an Apple iPad.
In September 2010, Stephen Large left the band and was replaced by Steve Nieve. Nieve had played as a session musician with Squeeze and Difford & Tilbook in the past, but had not – until this line-up change – ever been an official member of the group. However, within a matter of months, Large returned to the Squeeze line-up as Nieve left the band.
This line-up of Difford/Tilbrook/Bentley/Large/Hanson has continued to tour throughout 2011.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... | U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... | CAN Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Squeeze | - | - | - |
| 1979 | Cool for Cats Cool for Cats (album) Cool for Cats is the British new wave group Squeeze's second album, released in 1979. Cool for Cats contained more charting hit singles than any other album the band has released.... |
45 | - | - |
| 1980 | Argybargy Argybargy Argybargy is a 1980 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It would be the last album featuring founding member Jools Holland until Squeeze's first reunion album, 1985's Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti.... |
32 | 71 | 26 |
| 1981 | East Side Story | 19 | 44 | 29 |
| 1982 | Sweets from a Stranger Sweets from a Stranger Sweets from a Stranger is the fifth studio album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. Its surprisingly dark mood and what some perceived as relatively uninspired songwriting led to some of the band's least flattering reviews since their debut. The band split up soon after a world tour for the... |
20 | 32 | 26 |
| 1984 | Difford & Tilbrook: Difford & Tilbrook Difford & Tilbrook (album) Difford & Tilbrook is the only studio album released by Difford & Tilbrook. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were the main songwriters in the New Wave band Squeeze until their 1982 breakup. The duo continued to write songs together, and in 1984 released this self-titled effort. When Squeeze... |
47 | 55 | - |
| 1985 | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti is a 1985 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's sixth album, and the first recorded since their breakup in 1982. It reunited songwriters Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford with drummer Gilson Lavis and keyboardist Jools Holland... |
31 | 61 | - |
| 1987 | Babylon and On Babylon and On Babylon and On is a 1987 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's seventh album, and opens with their biggest U.S. hit, "Hourglass." Eric "ET" Thorngren produced the LP... |
14 | 36 | 91 |
| 1989 | Frank | 58 | 113 | - |
| 1991 | Play Play (Squeeze album) Play is a 1991 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's ninth album, and their only released by Reprise Records. It is also of note as it is the first LP in the Squeeze discography to feature only four official members instead of five... |
41 | - | - |
| 1993 | Some Fantastic Place Some Fantastic Place Some Fantastic Place is a 1993 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's tenth studio album, and it marks the departure of drummer Gilson Lavis, the only band member besides Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook who had appeared on every Squeeze album to this point... |
26 | 182 | - |
| 1995 | Ridiculous Ridiculous (album) Ridiculous is an album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's eleventh studio album, and it introduces new drummer Kevin Wilkinson . As on the previous album, Some Fantastic Place, the band recorded one song penned by Keith Wilkinson. This time, however, Keith was not permitted to... |
50 | - | - |
| 1998 | Domino | 165 | - | - |
| 2010 | Spot The Difference Spot the Difference (Squeeze album) Spot The Difference is a 2010 album by the British New Wave group Squeeze. It is the band's thirteenth studio album, and consists entirely of new recordings of older Squeeze songs... |
- | - | - |
EPs
| Year | EP | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... | U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... | CAN Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Packet of Three Packet of Three Packet of Three was the first release from the New Wave rock band Squeeze. It contained three songs produced by John Cale of The Velvet Underground, who also produced their self-titled debut LP the following year. Packet of Three was released in both 7" and 12" vinyl formats. The EP's title comes... |
- | - | - |
Live recordings
| Year | Album | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... | U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | A Round and a Bout A Round and a Bout A Round and a Bout is a live record by New Wave group Squeeze, released in 1990. A concert video was released with the same title, and contained mostly the same performances from the LP.-CD:#"Footprints" – 5:33... |
50 | 163 |
| 1999 | Live at the Royal Albert Hall | - | - |
| 2007 | Five Live: On Tour in America | - | - |
Compilations
| Year | Album | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... | U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten-Inch Record | - | - | US Release (included two Squeeze singles, three remix Remix A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song .... ed Cool For Cats singles, plus "Goodbye Girl" live) |
| 1982 | Singles – 45's and Under | 3 | 47 | RIAA RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards... : Platinum |
| 1987 | Classics, Vol. 25 | - | - | - |
| 1992 | Greatest Hits | 6 | - | - |
| 1996 | Piccadilly Collection | - | - | - |
| 1996 | Excess Moderation | - | - | - |
| 1997 | Six Of One... | - | - | 6-CD box set |
| 1998 | Master Series | - | - | - |
| 2000 | Up The Junction | - | - | - |
| 2002 | Big Squeeze: The Very Best Of Squeeze | 8 | - | - |
| 2005 | Gold | - | 197 | Retitled North American issue of Big Squeeze |
| 2006 | The Squeeze Story | - | - | - |
| 2007 | Essential Squeeze | 25 | - | - |
| 2008 | The Complete BBC Sessions | - | - | - |
Singles
Note that the three 1984 singles by Difford & TilbrookDifford & Tilbrook
Difford & Tilbrook are the songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, known for their work as the principal writers for the New Wave rock band Squeeze...
are included on this chart. All these singles have been reissued on various Squeeze compilations, and are retroactively credited on these compilations as being by Squeeze.
| Year | Title | Chart positions (N/R) = Not released as a single in that country |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Australia | Canada | Ireland | U.S. Hot 100/Bubbling under Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. Mainstream Rock | U.S. Modern Rock | |||
| 1978 | "Take Me, I'm Yours Take Me I'm Yours "Take Me I'm Yours" was the first of many hit singles by the New Wave rock band Squeeze. It established the band's trademark vocal style, with Chris Difford singing an octave lower than Glenn Tilbrook. The song has been covered several times, including a unique take by Tim Curry on his 1981 album... " |
#19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | U.K. Squeeze |
| 1978 | "Bang Bang" | #49 | - | - | - | - | - | - | U.K. Squeeze |
| 1978 | "Goodbye Girl" | #63 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cool for Cats |
| 1979 | "Cool for Cats Cool For Cats (song) "Cool for Cats" was the second single released from Squeeze's Cool for Cats album. It featured a comparatively rare lead vocal performance from Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford, one of only two occasions he sang lead on a Squeeze single A-side... " |
#2 | #5 | - | #8 | - | - | - | Cool for Cats |
| 1979 | "Up the Junction" | #2 | - | - | #3 | - | - | - | Cool for Cats |
| 1979 | "Slap and Tickle Slap And Tickle "Slap And Tickle" was the fourth and final single released from Squeeze's second album, Cool for Cats. "Slap and tickle" is a British euphemism for sexual activity, but the phrase also refers to the funky style of bass guitar played by Harry Kakoulli on this track.-Track listing:# "Slap And Tickle"... " |
#24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cool for Cats |
| 1979 | "Christmas Day Christmas Day (song) "Christmas Day" was a holiday single released by the New Wave band Squeeze in 1979. The single was released only in the United Kingdom, and failed to chart, a major surprise since the band had had consecutive number two hits earlier that year... " |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-LP |
| 1980 | "Another Nail in My Heart Another Nail In My Heart "Another Nail in My Heart" is a 1980 song by the new wave band Squeeze. Written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, it was released on the album Argybargy, received positive critical reviews, and charted in the United Kingdom and Canada... " |
#17 | - | #56 | #10 | - | - | - | Argybargy |
| 1980 | "If I Didn't Love You" | (N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Argybargy |
| 1980 | "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) "Pulling Mussels " is a new wave song by the band Squeeze. First released on the 1980 album Argybargy, it received positive critical reviews, peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of Squeeze's most popular songs... " |
#44 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Argybargy |
| 1980 | "Farfisa Beat Farfisa Beat Farfisa Beat was released as a single in Denmark and Germany in 1980, and Switzerland in 1981. The song is from Squeeze's third album, Argybargy. Farfisa refers to the manufacturer of the electronic organ that gives this song its distinct sound.... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Argybargy |
| 1981 | "Is That Love Is That Love "Is That Love" was the first single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, Scottish group Travis covered the song on their single "Selfish Jean".... " |
#35 | - | - | #25 | - | - | - | East Side Story |
| 1981 | "Tempted" | #41 | #95 | #45 | - | #49 | #8 | - | East Side Story |
| 1981 | "Labelled With Love Labelled With Love "Labelled With Love" was the third single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. It was the last Squeeze single to reach the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #4 in 1981... " |
#4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | East Side Story |
| 1981 | "Messed Around Messed Around "Messed Around" is a US single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story.... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | East Side Story |
| 1982 | "Black Coffee in Bed Black Coffee In Bed "Black Coffee in Bed" was the first single released from Squeeze's fifth album, Sweets from a Stranger. At the time of its release it was the longest Squeeze track ever issued, and it remains the only 7" Squeeze single over six minutes long... " |
#51 | - | - | - | #103 | #26 | - | Sweets From a Stranger |
| 1982 | "When the Hangover Strikes When The Hangover Strikes "When the Hangover Strikes" was the second single released from Squeeze's fifth album, Sweets from a Stranger. It was the first UK single culled from one of the band's albums not to achieve a position on the Singles Chart .... " |
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| 1982 | "I've Returned I've Returned "I've Returned" was a single in the Netherlands, released from Squeeze's fifth album, Sweets from a Stranger.... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Sweets From a Stranger |
| 1982 | "Annie Get Your Gun Annie Get Your Gun (song) "Annie Get Your Gun" was a single released by the New Wave band Squeeze in 1982. It was not featured on any studio album, but has been included on a number of compilations, including Singles – 45's and Under... " |
#43 | #52 | - | #16 | - | #40 | - | Non-LP |
| 1984 | Difford & Tilbrook Difford & Tilbrook Difford & Tilbrook are the songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, known for their work as the principal writers for the New Wave rock band Squeeze... : "Love's Crashing Waves Love's Crashing Waves "Love's Crashing Waves" was the first single released from Difford & Tilbrook's self-titled debut album. It was the act's only charting single in the UK , and by 1985 Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook had re-formed their previous band, Squeeze.-Track listing:7"# "Love's Crashing Waves" # "Within... " |
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| 1984 | Difford & Tilbrook: "Hope Fell Down Hope Fell Down "Hope Fell Down" is the second single released from Difford & Tilbrook's self-titled debut album.-Track listing:7"# "Hope Fell Down" # "Actions Speak Faster" 12"# "Hope Fell Down" # "Hope Fell Down "... " |
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| 1984 | Difford & Tilbrook: "Picking Up The Pieces" |
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| 1985 | "Last Time Forever Last Time Forever (song) "Last Time Forever" is the first single released from Squeeze's sixth album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, and the band's first since 1982 . The 12" version of the song, like the album version, contains brief samples from the film The Shining; the 7" version edits them out... " |
#45 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti |
| 1985 | "No Place Like Home No Place Like Home (song) "No Place Like Home" is the second UK single released from Squeeze's sixth album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti. Identical cover art was used for the "By Your Side" single released elsewhere in Europe.-Track listing:7"# "No Place Like Home"... " |
#83 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti |
| 1985 | "Hits of the Year Hits of the Year "Hits of the Year" was a U.S. single released from Squeeze's sixth album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti. The song describes a holiday flight interrupted by a hijacking. It charted only on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 39.... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | #39 | - | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti |
| 1985 | "Heartbreaking World Heartbreaking World "Heartbreaking World" was the third UK single released from Squeeze's sixth album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti. While every other Squeeze single was written by the team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, this one was penned by Difford and keyboardist Jools Holland. This is also the only Squeeze single... " |
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| 1985 | "By Your Side" | (N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti |
| 1986 | "King George Street" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti |
| 1987 | "Hourglass" | #16 | #90 | #23 | #24 | #15 | #22 | - | Babylon and On |
| 1987 | "Trust Me To Open My Mouth Trust Me To Open My Mouth "Trust Me to Open My Mouth" is the second single released in the UK from Squeeze's seventh album, Babylon and On. It reached number 72 in the UK Singles Chart.In North America, this song was not released as a single... " |
#72 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Babylon and On |
| 1987 | "The Waiting Game" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Babylon and On |
| 1988 | "853-5937 853-5937 "853-5937" written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, was the fourth UK single and the second US single released from Squeeze's seventh album, Babylon and On. While the track did not chart in the UK, it managed to reach number 32 on the US Hot 100 charts.In 1988 the London phone number 853... " |
#91 | - | #50 | - | #32 | #37 | - | Babylon and On |
| 1988 | "Footprints Footprints (song) "Footprints" was the fifth and final single released from Squeeze's seventh album, Babylon and On.-12" vinyl:# "Footprints" # "Striking Matches " # "In Today's Room" -CD:# "Footprints"... " |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | Babylon and On |
| 1989 | "If It's Love If It's Love "If It's Love" was the first single released from Squeeze's eighth album, Frank. It reached number seven on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1989.In 2010 the song was featured in a television advertisement for eHarmony.-Track listing:7" vinyl... " |
- | - | - | - | - | - | #7 | Frank |
| 1990 | "Love Circles Love Circles "Love Circles" is the second and final single released from Squeeze's eighth album, Frank. It featured a comparatively rare lead vocal turn by Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford — the only other Squeeze single on which Difford sang lead throughout the entire track was 1979's "Cool for Cats".... " |
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| 1990 | "Annie Get Your Gun (Live)" | (N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | - | A Round & A Bout |
| 1991 | "Sunday Street" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Play |
| 1991 | "Satisfied" | - | - | #47 | - | - | - | #3 | Play |
| 1991 | "Crying In My Sleep Crying In My Sleep "Crying in My Sleep" was the second single released from Squeeze's ninth album, Play, in the U.S. It was released only as a single-track, promotional CD, and reached number 14 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | #14 | Play |
| 1992 | "Cool for Cats Cool For Cats (song) "Cool for Cats" was the second single released from Squeeze's Cool for Cats album. It featured a comparatively rare lead vocal performance from Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford, one of only two occasions he sang lead on a Squeeze single A-side... " [UK Re-issue] |
#62 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Greatest Hits |
| 1993 | "Third Rail Third Rail (song) "Third Rail" was the first single released from Squeeze's tenth album, Some Fantastic Place. It was the first Squeeze song to crack the Top 40 in the UK since 1987's "Hourglass", peaking at number 39.-7" vinyl and cassette:# "Third Rail"... " |
#39 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Some Fantastic Place |
| 1993 | "Everything In The World Everything In The World "Everything in the World" is a song by Squeeze, released as the first single from their tenth album, Some Fantastic Place, in the United States and featured prominent falsetto vocals by British artist Chris Braide. "Third Rail" was the first single issued in most other countries. It was a hit in... " |
(N/R) | - | - | - | - | - | #9 | Some Fantastic Place |
| 1993 | "Some Fantastic Place Some Fantastic Place (song) "Some Fantastic Place" is the second single released from Squeeze's tenth album of the same name, Some Fantastic Place. It peaked at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart.... " |
#73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Some Fantastic Place |
| 1993 | "Loving You Tonight Loving You Tonight "Loving You Tonight" is the third single released from Squeeze's tenth album, Some Fantastic Place. Lead vocals on the song are by Paul Carrack... " |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | Some Fantastic Place |
| 1994 | "It's Over It's Over (Squeeze song) "It's Over" is a song by Squeeze, released as their fourth and final single from their tenth album, Some Fantastic Place.-CD:# "It's Over" # "Is That Love " # "Pulling Mussels "... " |
#89 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Some Fantastic Place |
| 1995 | "This Summer This Summer "This Summer" is a song by Squeeze, released as the first single from their eleventh album, Ridiculous.Two versions of the single were released, each with entirely different B-sides... " |
#36 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ridiculous |
| 1995 | "Electric Trains Electric Trains (song) "Electric Trains" is a song by Squeeze, released as their second single from their eleventh album, Ridiculous. It peaked at number 44 in the UK Singles Chart.Two versions of the single were released, each with entirely different B-sides.-CD #1:... " |
#44 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ridiculous |
| 1996 | "Heaven Knows Heaven Knows (Squeeze song) "Heaven Knows" is a song by Squeeze, released as the third single from their eleventh album, Ridiculous. The single version differs significantly from the original album mix, as most of Chris Difford's vocals have been erased and replaced by new vocals from Glenn Tilbrook... " |
#27 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ridiculous |
| 1996 | "This Summer (Remix)" | #32 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ridiculous |
| 1998 | "Down in the Valley Down in the Valley (Squeeze song) "Down in the Valley" is a song by Squeeze, released as the band's final single on Glenn Tilbrook's independent Quixotic Records in 1998. It was written and recorded for Charlton Athletic, and was not included on the band's final album, Domino.... " |
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External links
- Official site
- packetofthree.com The Squeeze Archive with exclusive photos, tour history, international discography and memorabilia
- Squeeze on A&M Records