By Chris Nixon
San Diego Union-Tribune
August 9, 2007
After performing to arena-sized audiences and selling millions of records in the 1980s and 1990s, the British pop band Squeeze returned this year to huge crowds and a growing legacy in popular music.
But it hasn't been all flowers and champagne since the band's breakup eight years ago.
Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford – the two creative forces behind the group – have fostered solo careers since the band's split in 1999. The two musicians have released largely unrecognized albums while playing small gigs in front of modest crowds.
During the transition from solo artists back into a band, the recent string of Squeeze shows has induced a bit of culture shock from both lead singer Tilbrook and guitarist Difford.
“I've been playing small shows mostly for the last eight or 10 years,” said Tilbrook, speaking a few days after a big reunion show at the Guilfest music festival in England. “Indeed, even before Squeeze split up, we were playing relatively small shows. But it was nice to play a show again like that. I'm in the fortunate position to enjoy all gigs, but I haven't had one of those sorts of gigs for a while.”
DETAILS
Squeeze, with Fountains of Wayne
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Park at Viejas Outlet Center, 5000 Willows Road, Alpine
Tickets: $65
Phone: (619) 445-5400
Online: www.viejas.com
“It's very peculiar,” admitted Difford from his home in England. “This weekend, I've got three solo shows, and I've just come off this massive stage playing an electric guitar in front of 22,000 people. I'm just about to go back to playing an acoustic guitar in front of 22 people. It's going to be very different.
“I'm not sure what these shows are going to teach me, but hopefully they'll teach me that there is balance.”
The main aspect separating this reunion from Difford-Tilbrook collaborations in the past is balance.
Traditionally, the division of labor in Squeeze broke down like this: Tilbrook wrote the music and Difford wrote the lyrics. Tilbrook has recorded two solo studio albums (2001's “The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook” and 2007's “Transatlantic Ping Pong”), while Difford has recorded one (2004's “I Didn't Get Where I Am”) with another due for release next year.
With Tilbrook exploring his talents in his solo career and Difford releasing albums under his own name, both musicians have broadened their skill sets.
“I really love my solo career because it taught me a lot of things,” said the 49-year-old Tilbrook. “I realized I could do things I never thought I could do before, including writing lyrics. I never want to lose sight of that again.
'Tempted': A listener's guide to Squeeze
During their career spanning the past three decades, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook have written a handful of classic pop songs: “Tempted,” “Take Me I'm Yours,” “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell).”
With their comeback in the works, it's time to take a look back at the albums that made these guys great. Despite yielding worthy pop songs like “Hits of the Year” (from 1985's “Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti”) and “Hourglass”/“Footprints” (from 1987's “Babylon and On”), the bulk of Squeeze's commercial and critical success originated in the British band's first five albums.
Let's take a look back:
“U.K. Squeeze” (1978, A&M Records)
Producer: John Cale/Squeeze
Lineup: Difford (guitar, vocals); Jools Holland (keyboards); Harry Kakoulli (bass); Gilson Lavis (drums); Tilbrook (guitar, vocals)
Singles: “Take Me I'm Yours,” “Bang Bang”
The gist: The first shot off the bow from Difford and Tilbrook, including the keyboard stomp of the classic “Take Me I'm Yours.”
“Cool for Cats” (1979, A&M Records)
Producer: John Wood/Squeeze
Lineup: Difford (guitar, vocals); Holland (keyboards); Kakoulli (bass); Lavis (drums); Tilbrook (guitar, vocals)
Singles: “Goodbye Girl,” “Cool for Cats,” “Up the Junction,” “Slap and Tickle”
The gist: The songwriting duo hones the art of the pop song, adding more guitars to the mix.
“Argybargy” (1980, A&M Records)
Producer: John Wood/Squeeze
Lineup: Difford (guitar, vocals); Holland (keyboards); John Bentley (bass); Lavis (drums); Tilbrook (guitar, vocals)
Singles: “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell),” “Another Nail in My Heart,” “If I Didn't Love You”
The gist: Equal parts nu-wave keyboard sheen and guitar-driven radio-friendly rock, “Argybargy” helped define infectious pop in the early 1980s.
“East Side Story” (1981, A&M Records)
Producers: Roger Bechirian/Elvis Costello
Lineup: Difford (guitar, vocals); Paul Carrack (keyboards); Bentley (bass); Lavis (drums); Tilbrook (guitar, vocals)
Singles: “Is That Love,” “Tempted,” “Labelled With Love,” “Messed Around”
The gist: With the addition of vocalist-keyboardist Paul Carrack, Squeeze scored the biggest hit of its career, the classic soul sound of “Tempted.”
“Sweets From a Stranger” (1982, A&M Records)
Producers: Squeeze/Phil McDonald
Lineup: Difford (guitar, vocals); Don Snow (keyboards); Bentley (bass); Lavis (drums); Tilbrook (guitar, vocals)
Singles: “Black Coffee in Bed,” “When the Hangover Strikes,” “I've Returned”
The gist: Tilbrook and Difford continue to explore accessible soul music with “Black Coffee in Bed.”
Best of the rest: “Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti” (1985, A&M Records); “Babylon and On” (1987, A&M Records); “Frank” (1989, A&M Records); “Play” (1991, Reprise Records); “Some Fantastic Place” (1993, A&M Records); “Ridiculous” (1995, Ark 21 Records); “Domino” (1998, Quixotic Records)
– CHRIS NIXON
“I never wrote lyrics when I was with Squeeze. And I've enjoyed writing with other people. I wrote with Steve Poltz (along with Ron Sexsmith, Chris Braide and Aimee Mann). Writing with other people has been fantastic. I never want to stop that. So, I want to maintain my solo career. I'm happy with it.”
Difford, 53, and Tilbrook met in London and formed Squeeze in 1974, gigging around Deptford (in southeast London) along with bands like Dire Straits while developing their trademark pop sound.
Pulling influences from the Mersey beat early Beatles sound, Motown 1960s soul and early 1980s nu-wave, Tilbrook and Difford penned commercially successful songs like “Up the Junction,” “Pulling Muscles (From the Shell),” “Black Coffee in Bed” and the Stateside smash “Tempted” (which featured the vocals of keyboardist Paul Carrack).
Although many of Squeeze's songs contain the pop appeal and musical sophistication of Beatles tunes, critics unfairly dubbed the songwriting partnership “the next Lennon and McCartney.”
As the hits subsided and Squeeze faded from the spotlight, the collaboration between Tilbrook and Difford became strained in the 1990s. The group went its separate ways in 1999.
Beginning a few years ago, a younger audience rediscovered Squeeze and rekindled interest in their music. An excellent book, “Squeeze: Song By Song” (released in 2004), documented the group's career. Universal (which now owns Squeeze's A&M catalog) decided to re-release all of Squeeze's albums in the U.K., complete with remastering and extra tracks.
To celebrate, Squeeze reformed with bassist John Bentley (the original bassist on “Argybargy,” “East Side Story” and “Sweets From a Stranger”) along with keyboardist Stephen Large and drummer Simon Hanson from Tilbrook's band to play a series of dates this summer.
This new string of shows might yield more than just a sold-out concert series.
“To be honest, we deliberately planned not to (write new material),” said Tilbrook. “Although subsequently in the past few weeks Chris and I have written another song together. And he's given me another bunch of lyrics, all of which I have to say are exceptionally good. I'm at a point where, why create barriers for yourself?”
Whether Squeeze ever records another album or not, Difford and Tilbrook have repaired their friendship and probably will continue to work with each other down the road.
“I don't think we quite know why we've come together on Earth to write such an amount of songs and to have a band called Squeeze,” admitted Difford. “I don't think we've ever had the opportunity to be as close as we are now, which is quite an achievement really.
“I think our younger years – speaking for myself – we spent touring but not communicating. And times have changed. We've grown up. We've both got children and we've been through different twists and turns in our lives. We've got our solo careers and we've both got Squeeze. It's something that we both love and respect.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
