There's a lot more to them. Squeeze is criminally underplayed (probably because of the band name). Great lyrics and some of the most interesting and sometimes complicated music put together in pop/rock that always sounds catchy. Definitely check out "Tempted (with Paul Carrack - from the song "The Living Years" singing lead) "Pulling Mussels" "Black Coffee In Bed" Glenn Tilbrook is a great songwriter.
Very underrated. Like them so much more than much of what survived as "classic rock radio." They had a bit of a new wave/alternative vibe that I think kept them from breaking through completely in the US.
One evening, a long time ago, I learned all the lyrics to Up The Junction, that was thirty years ago, I can still recite them word for word now, even though there is no chorus, it's just story.
Hey Justin, it was me who sent you the Squeeze hits CD :) Loving the Squeeze love-in on this thread! This track is atypical of the band, almost a novelty song, sung by lyricist Chris Difford for a change, it was hugely popular, getting to number 2 in the UK. Squeeze still are a beloved British band, fronted for 40 years by Glenn Tilbrook and Difford, dubbed ‘the new Lennon and McCartney’ when they first emerged. Difford was the master lyricist capturing British life with a wry sense of humour while Tilbrook crafted the most brilliant music and arrangements around Chris' words, singing them with his pure, choir boy voice - which he's still got to this day. He's a very underrated guitarist too. I've seen them so many times in concert and they're always fantastic live and huge fun. XTC are probably a good analogy, there's new wave, art rock, soul and plenty of Beatley pop influences all mixed in there. They worked with Elvis Costello for a while too. As I mentioned in my email, I'd probably have started with Up The Junction, Difford’s early attempt at a kitchen sink drama, a perennial favourite which also hit number 2 despite having no chorus! The other early song you mentioned, Goodbye Girl is another good track. Other standout tracks on that Essential Squeeze CD are Black Coffee In Bed, Another Nail In My Heart, Pulling Mussels (From The Shell), Hourglass (the big American eighties hit single), Tempted (with guest vocals from one-time keyboard player Paul Carrack who played with Mike Rutherford in Mike and the Mechanics), Labelled With Love (a country and western style kitchen sink drama!), Take Me I'm Yours and '90s song Some Fantastic Place (a gospel style tribute to a late friend of Chris and Glenn who had been instrumental in the band’s early years, and a song rightly described by them as their finest work). Top tip: as you check out their work, listen to the original recordings, *not* those on the recent Spot the Difference album where Glenn and Chris re-recorded note-for-note recreations of the originals to try and get round a copyright row. ps Jools Holland is renowned for his 'boogie-woogie' style piano playing. He left the band around 1981 to pursue a career as a TV presenter and was replaced briefly by Paul Carrack. Jools rejoined for a period in the mid eighties, but since the early '90s, he has hosted the long-running music show 'Later With Jools Holland on BBC TV. Every week established and emerging artists play in the round, occasionally with Jools guesting on keys. The show has broken some big artists like KT Tunstall over the past 30 years, but he's also had some of the greats as guests too, like David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Mike Oldfield. Jools also tours with his own rhythm and blues orchestra featuring guest vocalists plus Gilson Lavis on drums. You can find loads of recordings of performances from 30 years of 'Later with Jools' on RUclips.
@@highpath4776 Chris hosts songwriting retreats / summer camps too, working with upcoming / aspiring young songwriters to pass on his experience and help them on their journeys (online and in person).
@@jeremyb5640 I read how he could write, almost naturally, I struggle with it, I cannot retain alternative words in my head , though I know loads of them.
Glen Tilbrook is one of the finest vocalists to come out of the UK, his tone is just phenomenal in my opinion…. Difford and Tilbrook are very respected songwriters with a great back catalogue
Squeeze Cool for cats entered the UK Top 40 on the 24th March 1979 and peaked at no.2. The top 10 this week was: 1 - Gloria Gaynor - I will survive 2 - Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Oliver's army 3 - The Sex Pistols - Something else/Friggin' in the riggin' 4 - Lene Lovich - Lucky number 5 - The Village People - In the navy 6 - The Real Thing - Can you feel the force 7 - Chic - I want your love 8 - The Bee Gees - Tragedy 9 - Gary's Gang - Keep on dancing 10 - Thin Lizzy - Waiting for an alibi Other tracks also in this week's top 40: Queen - Don't stop me now Skids - Into the valley Toto - Hold the line The Cars - Just what I needed Dire Straits - Sultans of swing Squeeze - Cool for cats Art Garfunkel - Bright eyes The Jam - Strange town The Clash - English civil war Kate Bush - Wow Sister Sledge - He's the greatest dancer Blondie - Heart of glass The Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays Sham 69 - Questions and answers The Three Degrees - The runner The Jacksons - Shake your body. Forgotten how great 1979 was for music.... however I was only into the cheesy tracks back then....and even today I'm still not cool enough for the Clash.
Squeeze: one of the greatest pop bands of the last 40 years and so many people dont even know it haha (not quite 'art pop' but very smart and sophisticated) Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford wrote some seriously incredible songs. Tillbrook also rips on the guitar
Too true the 'Lennon and McCartney' of their era, writing great songs about real life, with more complex arrangements than you think on fist listen, music you can play over and over again.
Justin you need to listen to Jools (joules, jewels all sounds the same to me) do his thing on The The's "Uncertain Smile". He showed up at the studio on a hot summer's day in full motorbike leathers, listened briefly to a bit of the song and then did his solo in one take, with a second drop-in afterwards. Pure bliss.
The something special you can hear is a Mr Jools Holland on piano. He is a master on the keys and a very very accomplished piano player. Incidentally he occasionally plays with Paul Weller.
"Very accomplished" might be an understatement for Jools Holland. My understanding is he is one of the preeminent boggie-woogie players in the world (if anyone could correct me I would love to hear other players even almost as good as him). Dr. Jazz is one of the best examples of his talent. But of course he wastes all of his time meeting some of the best musicians in the world on his show "Later with Jools Hlland" 🙂
English Music Hall style, very innovative, lyrically almost an English Steely Dan. Very literate and sophisticated, a brilliant group. Which should lead on too... Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Squeeze (w Jools H.) and Smithereens were on the same bill Aug ‘87 at Jones Beach (NY) Theater. Spectacular outdoor show in relentless downpour. Wonderful clips now online of Squeeze 08/11/2021 return to JB. Miss the Smithereens - one of THE great guitar bands. fullstop.
Definitely a fan of the band here. Cool For Cats is one of my favorite tracks of Squeeze, and should you elect to explore them further on screen, I recommend that you immediately check out Hourglass, Tempted, and Black Coffee in Bed. Bangers, all of them. 👍🏾 Thanks for the upload and the reaction, Justin!
Definitely much more to explore with Squeeze - Cool for Cats is an outlier for me , I rarely play it . The song you cut off is ' Another Nail In My Heart ' . Songs like that one as well as Pulling Mussels From the Shell , Tempted , Black Coffee in Bed should definitely shine more light on their song writing / hit making talent . Have fun
Cool For Cats was an ITV Pop programme late 1950s/early 60s hosted by Kent Walton. Also in 1950s one would aim to be 'cool'. First verse is a memory of the TV Westerns (well they go back to film and the Black and White Silent movies), 2nd out on the pull round the pubs or discos in London. Squeeze were from the Lewisham, SE London Area, and this shows in their writing (see , say, The Who , a decade earlier, an Inner West London (Shepherds Bush), DC5 (North London Tottenham), Madness - NE London (Kilburn) or Dr Feelgood - Essex (honary East London) , all have a vibe in the music that somehow places them how and where the rivers, and rivers of life flow. Even say Bowie from Brixton.
I love Squeeze! So cool to see you reacting to them. Many great Squeeze songs: Up the Junction, Is That Love, Pulling Mussels From a Shell, Black Coffee In Bed, Slap & Tickle.
The good old UK Squeeze with Cool for Cats. Back then in Australia we called them the UK Squeeze. We loved that song. In Aussie the UK slang was okay and great fun, we understood all of it. The answer to the going to the pub verse. Is he got drunk, paid a lady for favors, but ended up with a 'nasty' rash and forgot what he had! The 'nasty rash' refers to a STD. Great song real good fun we played it often at the discos we ran.
My day just got better, a bit of Squeeze is great on a Saturday evening. Tilbrook and Difford are fantastic songwriters and have a great catalogue. arras in 'is 'ats I love it!
Wotcha, Juzza, me old china. Dave from The Smoke. Cheers for taking a butchers at Cools for Cats. (Just me getting Down To London with some Cockney rhyming slang). You are absolutely right - this is a good novelty single (disco meets Cockney knees-up), but Squeeze are much more of a power pop and art rock outfit. Glen Tilbrook is the regular singer and co-writer with Chris Difford. They are a great live band too (I've seen them a few times). Favourite songs? Is That Love?, Up The Junction, When The Hangover Strikes, Last Time Forever, Some Fantastic Place, This Summer, From The Cradle To The Grave. I could go on!
They are touring now in the States, solo and as openers for Hall & Oates. We just saw them solo on Friday August 6 in Hershey and they were fantastic, I am still smiling.
@@Katehowe3010 I would say it's disco-influenced, although like you say it's a particular flavor of hyperactive disco beat that post-punk bands were fond of in this era, more than actual disco artists. XTC's "Generals & Majors" and "Helicopter" are in a similar vein.
@@bulliboyz Perhaps you're right. Like I said above, it's a beat that I kind of had mentally filed alongside disco-influenced tracks like "Generals & Majors" - but I'm no Squeeze scholar, they might have never listened to a disco song in their lives as far as I know.
Pulling Muscles, Another Nail, Up The Junction, Tempted, Black Coffee and Goodby Girl, in that order, are the “most reviewable” IMHO.. Somebody knows what Squeeze he likes ...
I’ve been waiting for Squeeze. Another great band. Great pop sensibilities great players and writers. I think that you should really enjoy their music. I was fortunate that my band got the opportunity and honor to open up for Squeeze once at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland in 87. During the period of time when they were opening for Bowie on his “Glass Spider” tour. It was an off day from the Bowie tour where they were doing their own gig.
Jules Holland is host of the best music TV show, and has been for about 20 years: "Later, with Jules Holland". There is a small audience in a large studio. somewhat in the middle is Jules' grand piano. Arranged all around are small stages, on which wait all the various bands who are participating that night. Jules does his evening's speech and then walks to the first band, with whose members he briefly speaks, and then they play a relevant song, perhaps their most recent hit. Then Jules introduces the next band, and so on. After the halfway point, he goes around to give the bands their second slots. Sometime during the show, our host will himself play a number or two. His discussions with the bands, about music, are more in-depth and informative than most TV shows, even though he spends very little time talking with them. The Squeeze song "Up the Junction" is on the soundtrack of a fantastic little early-80s film called "Brimstone & Treacle", starring Sting, of The Police, and he is excellent. Great supporting cast and lots of the best songs from that period. Also, Sting wrote most of the film's music on his own, with one or two pieces written and performed by The Police. The story is wildly entertaining but grounded in a realistic London suburban setting. Very very original story -- it will widen your world.
Thanks for the reaction... Squeeze, XTC, Ian Dury etc... several rabbit holes to check out. As for Squeeze, the duo of Difford & Tilbrook was once touted by music critics to be the possible musical heir to Lennon-McCartney.. It didn't quite happen, but Squeeze managed to make some brilliant music... ...
Justin, you should listen to High Land, Hard Rain by Aztec Camera. The tracks Oblivious, Walk Out To Winter, Pillar To Post and Down The Dip are where to start.
FYI, the lines 'the Sweeney's doing ninety...' etc. refer to a British cop show from the 70s (think Starsky & Hutch) - I love the line 'funny how their missus always look the bleeding same' referring to the criminals' wives, probably played by the same actors over and over each week! There's a lot of this wry observational humour in Squeeze's lyrics - great, funny songs! And Jools Holland on keyboards is a national treasure, playing jazz piano these days, and hosting late-night live music shows on TV, and especially well-known for his New Years Eve 'Hootenanny' show. More Squeeze, please.
This is not Disco nor is it Art Pop. This is New Wave. British New Wave but still... BTW Don't sleep on these gems! • Slightly Drunk • Misadventure • Goodbye Girl • Revue • Take Me I'm Yours • Another Nail In My Heart • Up The Junction
"They must know what they like." *WHYY, I OUGHTTA!!!!* And yes, they were an amazing band. Go in release order if you can. The progression of Squeeze in songwriting/production was a marvelous thing to witness, especially once Carrack got involved.
Jools Holland now has the best music program on TV in the UK - Later. He has all kinds of guests on, but they all have to play live. He's an amazing pianist.
Yeah check out more squeeze. This was in their Infancy and you could sense the humor. Jools Holland has his own show now later with jools Holland. Gilson lavis plays in his band. So much talent in this band. They touring now and are still rocking.
This was useful to get them widely known, but they are so, so much more than this. For writing duo's we've been lucky to have 3 generations: Lennon and McCartney - Beatles Godley and Creme - 10cc Difford and Tilbrook - Squeeze
"Someone is mowing the lawn, like, right outside. Can you guys hear it?" :raises volume on microphone until soft engine humming is heard, then turns back down: "I dunno... They must know what they like." 😄
When I was 12 my brother add this album and I used to play this song over and over again. Check out the entire album Argybargy. That is Squeeze in their prime and at their best. Giant steps in their own right.
Excellent! Like if Guy Ritchie wrote a pop song. Ps, try It must be Love or Up the Junction. Also, the Rockiblly group The Stray Cats had a couple of great hits in the eighties.
My fave tracks from Squeeze are Tempted and Black Coffee In Bed. They've got a lot of good stuff. Jules Holland, their keys player, has had an incredibly popular and fantastic live music show on the BBC for a whole lot of years ( Later with Jules Holland ). His New Year's Eve Hootenany is must see viewing on New Year's Eve.
Hey Red, Squeeze first broke through in the late '70s so were a direct influence on the later Britpop bands of the nineties. The success of bands like Blur actually helped give Squeeze another burst of top 40 chart success in the early to mid '90s. Chris Difford acknowledged this in a clever line on the Squeeze single 'This Summer' in 1995 - 'the summer that began to Blur / has put us on the calendar'.
Fantastic band! Currently reading Chris Difford's autobio SOME FANTASTIC PLACE. Never heard a bad Squeeze elpee. Try the Difford & Tilbrook album, too. It's freakin' great, too!
That's an amazing book, he's so candid. Agree with you about the Difford & Tilbrook album - if that had been badged as a regular Squeeze album, it would have been a big hit. 'Hope Fell Down' is a great 'lost' Squeeze song!
Justin legend time again - This made me smile, the second verse is about the hapless protagonist getting the clap/STD... have always loved this band, another great pub rock band that broke through the punk battering ram, and who made it in the States in the mid to late 80's. You are right to stick them in a group that would include XTC, and the likes of Elvis Costello and the Attractions and as has been mentioned earlier Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Personal favourites are Another Nail, Pulling Mussels, Misadventure, Vanity Fair...argh, just play your gift mate, their greatest hits is an excellent place to start ha ha...cheers Top Man
I may be easily amused, but the lyrics of this song still make me smile. Progressive Rock had been gloriously consigned to the dustbin of musical history, for a few years at least, and clever and capable musicians had to find less self-indulgent ways of being clever for a while and put some effort into writing actual songs. They were another band, like The Stranglers, whose roots pre-dated punk, but found their success in the wake of that movement when the musical climate was more receptive. Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury and the Blockheads are also worth considering.
Most Squeeze songs are usually sung by Glenn Tilbrook who has a much better voice. This is a rare Chris Difford vocal. Squeeze aren't as experimental as XTC but they're certainly up there in terms of songwriting.
I never thought of them that way, but yeah, there is a bit of an "XTC but with Andy Partridge's weirdo-arty sensibility turned down by like 75%" vibe to Squeeze, isn't there? I've liked Squeeze since I was a kid, but I've never been a superfan like I am for XTC, maybe because I'm such a sucker for that weirdo-artiness.
@@sylvanm4216 i have similar experiences here. Having been an XTC fanatic for a while, Squeeze were often mentioned to me as a band akin to XTC, and while I did not dislike what I heard from them, they certainly don't give me the same creative spark as XTC's music. Maybe I'm missing something or the comparison between the two bands simply isn't the most fitting one?!
There is a lot more to Squeeze and 'Cool for Cats' is a kind of novelty track. The lead singer for most songs, Glen Tilbrook, has a beautiful voice. The cowriter and guitarist, Chris Difford (those are the main two guys in Squeeze) usually just does backup vocals, but did the lead on this one because it's sort of a jokey, ironic song about how it's supposed to be so cool to be a cat (a man), but really it's just getting drunk, trying to pick up girls and catching STDs. I know this was a year ago but I'm just getting into your channel! I really like your reactions. You're very open about all kinds of music, which I love. If you haven't checked out more Squeeze songs, I'd recommend 'Pulling Mussels From a Shell', 'Tempted', 'Is That Love', 'Goodbye Girl', 'Another Nail in my Heart'... a lot of great, interesting tunes. You're right that Squeeze are / were sort of art-pop, but their musicianship is pretty damn great and the songwriting can be beautiful. Excellent lyrics as well. Keep 'em coming! I love it.
Their best Albums are East side story ,Argybargy , Some Fantastic place , but there are many great songs on other albums as well . Very modern melodic pop similar to XTC or Crowded house which you may also like . Squeeze has many popular songs & big hits .
I'm not sure what the 'extra' is you're looking for, 'If I Didn't Love You' is super catchy, so is 'Slap and Tickle'; 'Tempted' you must have heard somewhere before, a more mature song is 'She Doesn't Have to Shave', 'Hourglass' was their big return single, 'Trust Me to Open My Mouth' is self- explanatory.
Squeeze has so many great songs! Up the Junction, Black Coffee in Bed, Take Me I'm Yours, Pulling Mussels....so many. Excited for you to start your Squeeze journey!
Yes but in this song it had the original meaning - Sweeney Todd = The Flying Squad. Cockney rhyming slang for the old kind of secret service branch of the police force
@@annother3350 Not Secret Service (that was Special Branch), The Sweeney was the Met's major crime (as in Drugs/Robbery/Arson Squad that covered all of London and some other areas, with a kind of rapid response to find evidence. Unfortunately some the the techniques and the blurring between the cops and the robbers meant its reputation was not very high - I suppose money tempts all.
Yes, I recognize this song from back then. Normally I would say: too much lyrics but this song has some fun elements in it that make it an experimental but still playful song.
Yes! I love Squeeze. Brilliant post-punk/pop, with songwriting that combines fantastic arrangements with great lyrics. Cool For Cats wouldn't have been my first recommendation to showcase their talents, but hey ho. Check out Tempted by the Fruit of Another, or Black Coffee in Bed.
For years as a kid I used to have visions of the singer actually being invited into the young lady's house for a coffee and giving her dog a bone. Not sure how old I was when I got the double meaning!! 😂
Wonderful pick Justin. Squeeze was a favorite of mine during my college daze of the mid 80's. Black Coffee in Bed, big hit. Pulling Muscles, big hit. Tempted, big hit. I prefer Another Nail in My Heart or my favorite Take Me I'm Yours. You might want to try The Jam. Incredible 3 piece that was a lead in the "mod" scene in England but was pretty popular in the 80's as well. Try Down in the Tube Station at Night. It will shock you with the tune. Heck, they have a beve of great tunes, dance, funky, ballads, new wavish, punkish.... special and most importantly unique band of that time.
Another great band on your playlist that I approve of. You should really check out their "Tempted" track sung by Paul Carrack before he joined Mike & the Mechanics and became their lead singer. It's the best British blue-eyed soul song ever written IMHO. Another classic is "Another Nail in the Heart." So many great songs by Squeeze. PS... I've just noticed for the first time that the Tempted track on The Essential Squeeze album is a different version to the original released single, which is the version I prefer personally.
Oh, my gosh. This is a song our keyboard player brought in one day, one he wanted the band to play. Being more of a hard rocker I wasn't too interested at first, but it grew on me. Not only did we do this song but Slap and Tickle, Another Nail in My Heart, and Pulling Mussels, all having a kind of early Elvis Costello sound. Great stuff.
Great to hear you react to Squeeze, Justin. One of my wife's favorite bands. Cool for Cats is not their best one to start with IMO, but it's not bad. To bad you didn't start with the track that started after CFCs finished. That one, Pulling Mussels From a Shell is a truly awesome track and definitely worth reacting to.
Art pop is a pretty good description. Other bands to check in a similar vein: Split Enz, maybe early INXS. Crowded House is a later offshoot of Split Enz. Squeeze is British, Split Enz ( New Zealand ), INXS ( Australia ).
Definitely check out Up The Junction for some fantastic lyrics. Cool For Cats was the first single I bought by Squeeze and it's great for a cockney like me to hear a song sung with a cockney voice!
I'm pretty sure Cool for Cats is not the first Squeeze song I'd get someone to listen to, but... "Tempted" was probably their biggest song, at least in the US. I'm partial to "Goodbye Girl." EDIT: 1979 was a great year for music, if you knew where to look.
Chris Difford is a vocalist. Glenn Tilbrook is a singer. They're an all-time pop songwriting team. You're already catching into their vibe and you will enjoy going down this path, as I will enjoy watching it. Pulling Mussels from a Shell, Goodbye Girl, UP THE JUNCTION (😢), Hourglass, Tempted, etc. All (and more) worth a listen.
Jools Holland, after he left Squeeze, hosts a regular music TV show on the BBC and has done so for years. He also fronts his own Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and that is worth checking out. He's played Glastonbury a few times.
Thanks for coming through on trying out this smart and talented band. I love the cockney accent on this one and the slang. In the last first he says, "I think I've got a pull" pulling a bird is like a fisherman getting a bite only it refers to getting a girl interested. This version is 30 seconds longer than the single version which doesn't have that disco segment. Really they were more of a New Wave band. I recognized that next track snippet, 'Another Nail in My Heart' which is another classic. Difford and Tillbrook formed the band in 1974 and began writing songs together, the Lennon/McCartney of the group. Jools Holland joined them soon at only age 16, you may recognize his name, he's played "as a blisteringly energetic, piano-pounding performer of boogie-woogie, jazz, and R&B" according to AllMusic. He left in 1980, formed his own guitar-less group, released solo albums, did session work then scored a job on TV as host of "the seminal British music series The Tube" (you can find clips on RUclips I'm sure). Squeeze broke up in '82 but reformed 3 years later, Holland rejoined but left again in '90, he wasn't getting enough tracks on the albums.
Saw them at the Hope and Anchor pub, I think it was, in Islington in one of their early gigs (probably around July 1977). At that time they seemed a fairly standard R&B band (check out their early Packet of Three EP and see what you think), but I was wrong. They turned into what I'd reckon to be lyrically one of the best singles bands of the late 20th century, along with Ian Dury and Pulp. That break that you mention always reminds me of the percussive break in Moonshake by Can, by the way.
Quite an atypical example of their output. Mostly they did beatles-inflected guitar pop but their range encompassed various other styles. I'm sure that CD has got all their best stuff. My particular favourites are their first single Take Me I'm Yours and the much later Paul Carrack fronted Tempted.
Pleased to see you delving into different aspects of pop music history, Justin! And you're kind of right, Squeeze are an art-rock-pop band started by a couple of young song writing friends (older, now) that draws on influences including The Beatles, 10cc, and the pub rock scene in London. Consider the music of Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, even Ian Dury & the Blockheads (who mixed a touch of disco and jazz with 'punk' attitude and rockabilly). You may want to brush up on some British slang, even some Cockney rhyming slang, to understand some of the (very clever) lyrics a bit better. Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook are great pop-rock songwriters (the usual lead singer is Tillbrook, with a higher voice). They broke up their partnership and friendship for a few years. Thankfully, in recent years things were patched up and the band has resumed working, even releasing new material. Pianist Jools Holland has, since leaving Squeeze the first time, become a significant British TV personality and live music presenter on the BBC. Squeeze are good musicians, and offer high energy in concert. First saw and heard them live as opening act for Elvis Costello & the Attractions on tour in January 1981. Saw and heard them again in 2016 (with Tillbrook and Difford being the sole original members) - where one could pay at the start for a live recording and at the end of the evening be given a CD package of that concert. And if we waited a few minutes, the musicians then came out to sign the CDs. I got my CDs signed that night. Later this year, Squeeze will join the band, Madness, for a series of concerts in the UK. Good Squeeze songs include "Goodbye Girl", "Up the Junction", Pulling Mussels from the Shell", "Another Nail Through My Heart", "Tempted", "Black Coffee In Bed", etc. By the way, having lost the royalties to their early, successful recorded catalogue to another company, the band re-recorded their hits in a recently released package so that they can now receive royalties from those (popular) earlier songs. And the new versions (recorded with new equipment and older voices) sounded shockingly close to the original recordings.
Really looking forward to your further dive into Squeeze. I won't bother recommending any specific tracks, since the tracks I'd choose are already well represented in the comments.
Paul Carrick of Squeeze the one who sang lead on "Tempted" has been part of Roger Waters tour band since forever. I suggest you check out video from the "In the Flesh" live concert. Besides that he's played with just about everybody who's anybody progressive to edgy pop. Squeeze does have a certain reputation.
English Pop Punk. not disco but catchy enough for clubs. They have many sounds but this song is the song that most folks recognize first as well as Black Coffee In Bed.
I did not expect you to dive into Squeeze. Great starting point. Squeeze is a band I came to right around the time of their first breakup, but the reunited and I have been with them ever since. What you are going to find is that most of their songs are about losers. Not necessarily losers in life, but losers in the moment. Difford and Tilbrook are two of the best songwriters ever--very much in the same tradition as Lennon and McCartney. Their best song, imo, is "Black Coffee in Bed." Hope you get to that one. Also, try "Goodbye Girl."
There's a lot more to them. Squeeze is criminally underplayed (probably because of the band name). Great lyrics and some of the most interesting and sometimes complicated music put together in pop/rock that always sounds catchy. Definitely check out "Tempted (with Paul Carrack - from the song "The Living Years" singing lead) "Pulling Mussels" "Black Coffee In Bed" Glenn Tilbrook is a great songwriter.
All of them are great, but let’s not forget Hourglass! 😉
'Another Nail In My Heart' is a favourite of mine. Paul Carrack's version of 'Don't Shed A Tear' is another.
Very underrated. Like them so much more than much of what survived as "classic rock radio." They had a bit of a new wave/alternative vibe that I think kept them from breaking through completely in the US.
You'll love this: I had a friend in high school who had two cats named Difford and Tillbrook. Some of the best cat names ever.
they were played everyday on tv radio back then...so stfu
You've got to listen to "Pulling mussels from a shell". That is their finest song.
Oh yes, Pulling Muscles from Michelle. 😂
@@amyk9175 Labelled with Love
‘They do it down on Camber Sands, they do it at Waikiki... ‘ 🎵
Another Nail in the Heart!
@@dexstewart2450 With ya Dex!!
A Squeeze song "Up the Junction" appears in the TV series 'Breaking Bad', in the season five episode 'Gliding Over All'.
Up the Junction is great!
@@JavaTheKat
Story of my life (almost)
The Ex was from Clapham (true!)
One evening, a long time ago, I learned all the lyrics to Up The Junction, that was thirty years ago, I can still recite them word for word now, even though there is no chorus, it's just story.
Hey Justin, it was me who sent you the Squeeze hits CD :) Loving the Squeeze love-in on this thread!
This track is atypical of the band, almost a novelty song, sung by lyricist Chris Difford for a change, it was hugely popular, getting to number 2 in the UK.
Squeeze still are a beloved British band, fronted for 40 years by Glenn Tilbrook and Difford, dubbed ‘the new Lennon and McCartney’ when they first emerged. Difford was the master lyricist capturing British life with a wry sense of humour while Tilbrook crafted the most brilliant music and arrangements around Chris' words, singing them with his pure, choir boy voice - which he's still got to this day. He's a very underrated guitarist too. I've seen them so many times in concert and they're always fantastic live and huge fun.
XTC are probably a good analogy, there's new wave, art rock, soul and plenty of Beatley pop influences all mixed in there. They worked with Elvis Costello for a while too.
As I mentioned in my email, I'd probably have started with Up The Junction, Difford’s early attempt at a kitchen sink drama, a perennial favourite which also hit number 2 despite having no chorus! The other early song you mentioned, Goodbye Girl is another good track.
Other standout tracks on that Essential Squeeze CD are Black Coffee In Bed, Another Nail In My Heart, Pulling Mussels (From The Shell), Hourglass (the big American eighties hit single), Tempted (with guest vocals from one-time keyboard player Paul Carrack who played with Mike Rutherford in Mike and the Mechanics), Labelled With Love (a country and western style kitchen sink drama!), Take Me I'm Yours and '90s song Some Fantastic Place (a gospel style tribute to a late friend of Chris and Glenn who had been instrumental in the band’s early years, and a song rightly described by them as their finest work).
Top tip: as you check out their work, listen to the original recordings, *not* those on the recent Spot the Difference album where Glenn and Chris re-recorded note-for-note recreations of the originals to try and get round a copyright row.
ps Jools Holland is renowned for his 'boogie-woogie' style piano playing. He left the band around 1981 to pursue a career as a TV presenter and was replaced briefly by Paul Carrack. Jools rejoined for a period in the mid eighties, but since the early '90s, he has hosted the long-running music show 'Later With Jools Holland on BBC TV. Every week established and emerging artists play in the round, occasionally with Jools guesting on keys. The show has broken some big artists like KT Tunstall over the past 30 years, but he's also had some of the greats as guests too, like David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Mike Oldfield. Jools also tours with his own rhythm and blues orchestra featuring guest vocalists plus Gilson Lavis on drums. You can find loads of recordings of performances from 30 years of 'Later with Jools' on RUclips.
Awesome, thank you Jeremy! Appreciate the background and recommendations; I'll definitely check out some more
@@JustJP Chris Difford has some YT acoustic guitar versions of their songs and I think he did a couple over the lockdown years
@@highpath4776 Chris hosts songwriting retreats / summer camps too, working with upcoming / aspiring young songwriters to pass on his experience and help them on their journeys (online and in person).
@@jeremyb5640 I read how he could write, almost naturally, I struggle with it, I cannot retain alternative words in my head , though I know loads of them.
Glen Tilbrook is one of the finest vocalists to come out of the UK, his tone is just phenomenal in my opinion…. Difford and Tilbrook are very respected songwriters with a great back catalogue
This band is something you need to listen to more of. Just fantastic song writing and lyricism. Serious.
Squeeze Cool for cats entered the UK Top 40 on the 24th March 1979 and peaked at no.2.
The top 10 this week was:
1 - Gloria Gaynor - I will survive
2 - Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Oliver's army
3 - The Sex Pistols - Something else/Friggin' in the riggin'
4 - Lene Lovich - Lucky number
5 - The Village People - In the navy
6 - The Real Thing - Can you feel the force
7 - Chic - I want your love
8 - The Bee Gees - Tragedy
9 - Gary's Gang - Keep on dancing
10 - Thin Lizzy - Waiting for an alibi
Other tracks also in this week's top 40:
Queen - Don't stop me now
Skids - Into the valley
Toto - Hold the line
The Cars - Just what I needed
Dire Straits - Sultans of swing
Squeeze - Cool for cats
Art Garfunkel - Bright eyes
The Jam - Strange town
The Clash - English civil war
Kate Bush - Wow
Sister Sledge - He's the greatest dancer
Blondie - Heart of glass
The Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
Sham 69 - Questions and answers
The Three Degrees - The runner
The Jacksons - Shake your body.
Forgotten how great 1979 was for music.... however I was only into the cheesy tracks back then....and even today I'm still not cool enough for the Clash.
Squeeze: one of the greatest pop bands of the last 40 years and so many people dont even know it haha (not quite 'art pop' but very smart and sophisticated)
Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Difford wrote some seriously incredible songs. Tillbrook also rips on the guitar
Too true the 'Lennon and McCartney' of their era, writing great songs about real life, with more complex arrangements than you think on fist listen, music you can play over and over again.
@@simply_psi And Tillbrook is a BEAST on guitar
Squeeze is must! This Chris Difford singing versus Glenn Tilbrook on lead… such a damn catchy tune. Jools Holland on the keys is great as always.
Justin you need to listen to Jools (joules, jewels all sounds the same to me) do his thing on The The's "Uncertain Smile". He showed up at the studio on a hot summer's day in full motorbike leathers, listened briefly to a bit of the song and then did his solo in one take, with a second drop-in afterwards. Pure bliss.
**Jools
@@Johonnac whoops, I’ll fix that… didn’t even realize I did that. I was just happy I got Glenn’s extra n in 😁
Then there's the Difford and Tilbrook Album- "Squeeze lite" 2 years after the band broke up, a very solid album.
@@salsalzman2325 I so enjoyed Loves Crashing Waves!
The something special you can hear is a Mr Jools Holland on piano. He is a master on the keys and a very very accomplished piano player. Incidentally he occasionally plays with Paul Weller.
"Very accomplished" might be an understatement for Jools Holland. My understanding is he is one of the preeminent boggie-woogie players in the world (if anyone could correct me I would love to hear other players even almost as good as him). Dr. Jazz is one of the best examples of his talent. But of course he wastes all of his time meeting some of the best musicians in the world on his show "Later with Jools Hlland" 🙂
English Music Hall style, very innovative, lyrically almost an English Steely Dan. Very literate and sophisticated, a brilliant group.
Which should lead on too... Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Ian Dury & the Blockheads-YES!!
Ian was a big fan of the Dan too
As a Dan fan I agree with the similarity... story telling put to music with a melody often at odds with the subject matter.
You segued into (IMO) their best song (certainly single),'Another Nail In My Heart' 😉
Joolz Holland tickling the ivories. Great band with a really interesting catalogue of tracks. Some superb lyrics and very English.
"Goodbye Girl" is another fine track.
Squeeze and The Smithereens... 2 almost forgotten awesome groups.
Squeeze (w Jools H.) and Smithereens were on the same bill Aug ‘87 at Jones Beach (NY) Theater. Spectacular outdoor show in relentless downpour. Wonderful clips now online of Squeeze 08/11/2021 return to JB. Miss the Smithereens - one of THE great guitar bands. fullstop.
Surprised and impressed you’re playing Squeeze, just another great band from England! 🏴
Definitely a fan of the band here. Cool For Cats is one of my favorite tracks of Squeeze, and should you elect to explore them further on screen, I recommend that you immediately check out Hourglass, Tempted, and Black Coffee in Bed. Bangers, all of them. 👍🏾
Thanks for the upload and the reaction, Justin!
Thanks for the suggestions Bryan :)
Definitely much more to explore with Squeeze - Cool for Cats is an outlier for me , I rarely play it .
The song you cut off is ' Another Nail In My Heart ' . Songs like that one as well as Pulling Mussels From the Shell , Tempted , Black Coffee in Bed should definitely shine more light on their song writing / hit making talent . Have fun
Cool For Cats was an ITV Pop programme late 1950s/early 60s hosted by Kent Walton. Also in 1950s one would aim to be 'cool'. First verse is a memory of the TV Westerns (well they go back to film and the Black and White Silent movies), 2nd out on the pull round the pubs or discos in London. Squeeze were from the Lewisham, SE London Area, and this shows in their writing (see , say, The Who , a decade earlier, an Inner West London (Shepherds Bush), DC5 (North London Tottenham), Madness - NE London (Kilburn) or Dr Feelgood - Essex (honary East London) , all have a vibe in the music that somehow places them how and where the rivers, and rivers of life flow. Even say Bowie from Brixton.
I love Squeeze! So cool to see you reacting to them. Many great Squeeze songs: Up the Junction, Is That Love, Pulling Mussels From a Shell, Black Coffee In Bed, Slap & Tickle.
The good old UK Squeeze with Cool for Cats. Back then in Australia we called them the UK Squeeze. We loved that song. In Aussie the UK slang was okay and great fun, we understood all of it. The answer to the going to the pub verse. Is he got drunk, paid a lady for favors, but ended up with a 'nasty' rash and forgot what he had! The 'nasty rash' refers to a STD. Great song real good fun we played it often at the discos we ran.
My day just got better, a bit of Squeeze is great on a Saturday evening. Tilbrook and Difford are fantastic songwriters and have a great catalogue. arras in 'is 'ats I love it!
I love this song but if I was introducing someone to Squeeze I would play Tempted or Pulling Muscles From a Shell.
**Mussels
Wotcha, Juzza, me old china. Dave from The Smoke. Cheers for taking a butchers at Cools for Cats. (Just me getting Down To London with some Cockney rhyming slang). You are absolutely right - this is a good novelty single (disco meets Cockney knees-up), but Squeeze are much more of a power pop and art rock outfit. Glen Tilbrook is the regular singer and co-writer with Chris Difford. They are a great live band too (I've seen them a few times). Favourite songs? Is That Love?, Up The Junction, When The Hangover Strikes, Last Time Forever, Some Fantastic Place, This Summer, From The Cradle To The Grave. I could go on!
You're a chicken and rice fella, no jaffa.
@@markharris1125 Shabba!
They are touring now in the States, solo and as openers for Hall & Oates. We just saw them solo on Friday August 6 in Hershey and they were fantastic, I am still smiling.
Never thought of this as disco when I listened to this in the 80s. I associated it more with new wave but maybe I’ve been wrong this whole time
@@Katehowe3010 I would say it's disco-influenced, although like you say it's a particular flavor of hyperactive disco beat that post-punk bands were fond of in this era, more than actual disco artists. XTC's "Generals & Majors" and "Helicopter" are in a similar vein.
@@sylvanm4216 I’m sorry, but there is nothing disco, or disco influence about this track.
No you’re right. It’d not disco
@@bulliboyz Perhaps you're right. Like I said above, it's a beat that I kind of had mentally filed alongside disco-influenced tracks like "Generals & Majors" - but I'm no Squeeze scholar, they might have never listened to a disco song in their lives as far as I know.
Pulling Muscles, Another Nail, Up The Junction, Tempted, Black Coffee and Goodby Girl, in that order, are the “most reviewable” IMHO.. Somebody knows what Squeeze he likes ...
I’ve been waiting for Squeeze. Another great band. Great pop sensibilities great players and writers.
I think that you should really enjoy their music.
I was fortunate that my band got the opportunity and honor to open up for Squeeze once at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland in 87. During the period of time when they were opening for Bowie on his “Glass Spider” tour. It was an off day from the Bowie tour where they were doing their own gig.
Great band. Love the song "Up the Junction" and of course "Tempted".
Tempted 😻
Tempted, most definitely!
1978 this was a great music great live
For me, Squeeze are up there with anyone for the brilliance of their lyrics.
Jules Holland is host of the best music TV show, and has been for about 20 years: "Later, with Jules Holland".
There is a small audience in a large studio. somewhat in the middle is Jules' grand piano. Arranged all around are small stages, on which wait all the various bands who are participating that night.
Jules does his evening's speech and then walks to the first band, with whose members he briefly speaks, and then they play a relevant song, perhaps their most recent hit.
Then Jules introduces the next band, and so on. After the halfway point, he goes around to give the bands their second slots. Sometime during the show, our host will himself play a number or two. His discussions with the bands, about music, are more in-depth and informative than most TV shows, even though he spends very little time talking with them.
The Squeeze song "Up the Junction" is on the soundtrack of a fantastic little early-80s film called "Brimstone & Treacle", starring Sting, of The Police, and he is excellent. Great supporting cast and lots of the best songs from that period. Also, Sting wrote most of the film's music on his own, with one or two pieces written and performed by The Police. The story is wildly entertaining but grounded in a realistic London suburban setting. Very very original story -- it will widen your world.
Thanks for the reaction... Squeeze, XTC, Ian Dury etc... several rabbit holes to check out.
As for Squeeze, the duo of Difford & Tilbrook was once touted by music critics to be the possible musical heir to Lennon-McCartney.. It didn't quite happen, but Squeeze managed to make some brilliant music...
...
Justin, you should listen to High Land, Hard Rain by Aztec Camera. The tracks Oblivious, Walk Out To Winter, Pillar To Post and Down The Dip are where to start.
Aztec Camera do a great cover of Van Halen's "Jump"
Fantastic album!
FYI, the lines 'the Sweeney's doing ninety...' etc. refer to a British cop show from the 70s (think Starsky & Hutch) - I love the line 'funny how their missus always look the bleeding same' referring to the criminals' wives, probably played by the same actors over and over each week! There's a lot of this wry observational humour in Squeeze's lyrics - great, funny songs! And Jools Holland on keyboards is a national treasure, playing jazz piano these days, and hosting late-night live music shows on TV, and especially well-known for his New Years Eve 'Hootenanny' show. More Squeeze, please.
I wouldn't call this disco, a sort of jazz/punk blend is how I have always seen it, but they don't always sound like this. 'Up The Junction' next
This is not Disco nor is it Art Pop.
This is New Wave.
British New Wave but still...
BTW
Don't sleep on these gems!
• Slightly Drunk
• Misadventure
• Goodbye Girl
• Revue
• Take Me I'm Yours
• Another Nail In My Heart
• Up The Junction
"They must know what they like." *WHYY, I OUGHTTA!!!!* And yes, they were an amazing band. Go in release order if you can. The progression of Squeeze in songwriting/production was a marvelous thing to witness, especially once Carrack got involved.
🤭🤭🤭
Jools Holland now has the best music program on TV in the UK - Later. He has all kinds of guests on, but they all have to play live. He's an amazing pianist.
Yeah check out more squeeze. This was in their Infancy and you could sense the humor. Jools Holland has his own show now later with jools Holland. Gilson lavis plays in his band. So much talent in this band. They touring now and are still rocking.
This was useful to get them widely known, but they are so, so much more than this. For writing duo's we've been lucky to have 3 generations:
Lennon and McCartney - Beatles
Godley and Creme - 10cc
Difford and Tilbrook - Squeeze
"Someone is mowing the lawn, like, right outside. Can you guys hear it?"
:raises volume on microphone until soft engine humming is heard, then turns back down:
"I dunno...
They must know what they like."
😄
I was looking to see if anyone else had picked up on that 😁
😁😁
Me?
I'm just a lawn mower.
You can tell me by the way I walk.
East Side Story was a perfect album. So many fantastic songs from this band it's hard to single one out but Tempted would be up there.
Mumbo Jumbo, Piccadilly. You're right, too many good songs to pick just one.
When I was 12 my brother add this album and I used to play this song over and over again. Check out the entire album Argybargy. That is Squeeze in their prime and at their best. Giant steps in their own right.
You've left my ring by the soap, now is that love?.....a great opening line to...
Excellent! Like if Guy Ritchie wrote a pop song.
Ps, try It must be Love or Up the Junction.
Also, the Rockiblly group The Stray Cats had a couple of great hits in the eighties.
My fave tracks from Squeeze are Tempted and Black Coffee In Bed. They've got a lot of good stuff. Jules Holland, their keys player, has had an incredibly popular and fantastic live music show on the BBC for a whole lot of years ( Later with Jules Holland ). His New Year's Eve Hootenany is must see viewing on New Year's Eve.
Ahh yes reminiscing about school days in London, weekend s out on the bikes hacking around Dulwich & Norwood. With the lads
Squeeze was part of the brit pop wave together with bands like Blur and Oasis.
Hey Red, Squeeze first broke through in the late '70s so were a direct influence on the later Britpop bands of the nineties.
The success of bands like Blur actually helped give Squeeze another burst of top 40 chart success in the early to mid '90s. Chris Difford acknowledged this in a clever line on the Squeeze single 'This Summer' in 1995 - 'the summer that began to Blur / has put us on the calendar'.
Fantastic band! Currently reading Chris Difford's autobio SOME FANTASTIC PLACE. Never heard a bad Squeeze elpee. Try the Difford & Tilbrook album, too. It's freakin' great, too!
That's an amazing book, he's so candid. Agree with you about the Difford & Tilbrook album - if that had been badged as a regular Squeeze album, it would have been a big hit. 'Hope Fell Down' is a great 'lost' Squeeze song!
Justin legend time again - This made me smile, the second verse is about the hapless protagonist getting the clap/STD... have always loved this band, another great pub rock band that broke through the punk battering ram, and who made it in the States in the mid to late 80's. You are right to stick them in a group that would include XTC, and the likes of Elvis Costello and the Attractions and as has been mentioned earlier Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Personal favourites are Another Nail, Pulling Mussels, Misadventure, Vanity Fair...argh, just play your gift mate, their greatest hits is an excellent place to start ha ha...cheers Top Man
They were. Its 44 years old now but still sounds great. My favourite song of theirs. Brings back memories. Thank you.
This always reminds me of the theme song from the HEATHCLIFF cartoon, very similar...and both about cats, coincidentally enough...
I may be easily amused, but the lyrics of this song still make me smile. Progressive Rock had been gloriously consigned to the dustbin of musical history, for a few years at least, and clever and capable musicians had to find less self-indulgent ways of being clever for a while and put some effort into writing actual songs. They were another band, like The Stranglers, whose roots pre-dated punk, but found their success in the wake of that movement when the musical climate was more receptive. Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury and the Blockheads are also worth considering.
Tempted was their biggest hit and figured in a hit teen 80s film. I always liked Annie Get Your Gun for pure pop pleasure.
Most Squeeze songs are usually sung by Glenn Tilbrook who has a much better voice. This is a rare Chris Difford vocal.
Squeeze aren't as experimental as XTC but they're certainly up there in terms of songwriting.
I never thought of them that way, but yeah, there is a bit of an "XTC but with Andy Partridge's weirdo-arty sensibility turned down by like 75%" vibe to Squeeze, isn't there? I've liked Squeeze since I was a kid, but I've never been a superfan like I am for XTC, maybe because I'm such a sucker for that weirdo-artiness.
@@sylvanm4216 i have similar experiences here. Having been an XTC fanatic for a while, Squeeze were often mentioned to me as a band akin to XTC, and while I did not dislike what I heard from them, they certainly don't give me the same creative spark as XTC's music. Maybe I'm missing something or the comparison between the two bands simply isn't the most fitting one?!
A fantastic band. Lyrically and musically superoxide to many ‘new wave’ musical acts around the late 70’s.
Squeeze has some of the most creative pop songs in their repertoire. Babylon and On is a classic LP.
There is a lot more to Squeeze and 'Cool for Cats' is a kind of novelty track. The lead singer for most songs, Glen Tilbrook, has a beautiful voice. The cowriter and guitarist, Chris Difford (those are the main two guys in Squeeze) usually just does backup vocals, but did the lead on this one because it's sort of a jokey, ironic song about how it's supposed to be so cool to be a cat (a man), but really it's just getting drunk, trying to pick up girls and catching STDs.
I know this was a year ago but I'm just getting into your channel! I really like your reactions. You're very open about all kinds of music, which I love. If you haven't checked out more Squeeze songs, I'd recommend 'Pulling Mussels From a Shell', 'Tempted', 'Is That Love', 'Goodbye Girl', 'Another Nail in my Heart'... a lot of great, interesting tunes. You're right that Squeeze are / were sort of art-pop, but their musicianship is pretty damn great and the songwriting can be beautiful. Excellent lyrics as well. Keep 'em coming! I love it.
Their best Albums are East side story ,Argybargy , Some Fantastic place , but there are many great songs on other albums as well . Very modern melodic pop similar to XTC or Crowded house which you may also like . Squeeze has many popular songs & big hits .
Squeeze is right there between XTC, Fischer-Z, The Police and Split Enz.
I'm not sure what the 'extra' is you're looking for, 'If I Didn't Love You' is super catchy, so is 'Slap and Tickle'; 'Tempted' you must have heard somewhere before, a more mature song is 'She Doesn't Have to Shave', 'Hourglass' was their big return single, 'Trust Me to Open My Mouth' is self- explanatory.
I totally forgot about If I Didn’t Love You. Another great song from the band. 👍🏾
Squeeze has so many great songs! Up the Junction, Black Coffee in Bed, Take Me I'm Yours, Pulling Mussels....so many. Excited for you to start your Squeeze journey!
I always thought of Squeeze as intelligent pop.
"The Sweeney" was a 1970's cop drama featuring a lot of cockney wideboys and car chases, the song is full of references to London culture.
Yes but in this song it had the original meaning - Sweeney Todd = The Flying Squad.
Cockney rhyming slang for the old kind of secret service branch of the police force
@@annother3350 I always read it as a reference to the T.V show, it makes it a lot funnier.
@@annother3350 Not Secret Service (that was Special Branch), The Sweeney was the Met's major crime (as in Drugs/Robbery/Arson Squad that covered all of London and some other areas, with a kind of rapid response to find evidence. Unfortunately some the the techniques and the blurring between the cops and the robbers meant its reputation was not very high - I suppose money tempts all.
@@highpath4776 I know -- I was just trying to summarise them without typing too much
Yes, I recognize this song from back then.
Normally I would say: too much lyrics but this song has some fun elements in it that make it an experimental but still playful song.
Fun video, too!
Squeeze were part of the new wave scene, but Glen and Chris wrote fantastic lyrics - Ian Dury and the blockheads were there then / fantastic band.
Yes! I love Squeeze. Brilliant post-punk/pop, with songwriting that combines fantastic arrangements with great lyrics. Cool For Cats wouldn't have been my first recommendation to showcase their talents, but hey ho. Check out Tempted by the Fruit of Another, or Black Coffee in Bed.
Loved the video for this song!
For years as a kid I used to have visions of the singer actually being invited into the young lady's house for a coffee and giving her dog a bone. Not sure how old I was when I got the double meaning!! 😂
Ha! Even when it's not a Genesis vid, we get a Genesis reference.
It's one o'clock - time for lunch. Bom de bom de bom. ;)
😉
Wonderful pick Justin. Squeeze was a favorite of mine during my college daze of the mid 80's. Black Coffee in Bed, big hit. Pulling Muscles, big hit. Tempted, big hit. I prefer Another Nail in My Heart or my favorite Take Me I'm Yours. You might want to try The Jam. Incredible 3 piece that was a lead in the "mod" scene in England but was pretty popular in the 80's as well. Try Down in the Tube Station at Night. It will shock you with the tune. Heck, they have a beve of great tunes, dance, funky, ballads, new wavish, punkish.... special and most importantly unique band of that time.
I love this song 😊. It's so original.
Another great band on your playlist that I approve of. You should really check out their "Tempted" track sung by Paul Carrack before he joined Mike & the Mechanics and became their lead singer. It's the best British blue-eyed soul song ever written IMHO. Another classic is "Another Nail in the Heart." So many great songs by Squeeze.
PS... I've just noticed for the first time that the Tempted track on The Essential Squeeze album is a different version to the original released single, which is the version I prefer personally.
Still have the single from when it first was released from all those years ago.
Oh, my gosh. This is a song our keyboard player brought in one day, one he wanted the band to play. Being more of a hard rocker I wasn't too interested at first, but it grew on me. Not only did we do this song but Slap and Tickle, Another Nail in My Heart, and Pulling Mussels, all having a kind of early Elvis Costello sound. Great stuff.
Always loved this song
Classic song Justin, "up the junction" next please! Happy memories from 1979😊
I think I may go see Squeeze open for the Doobie Brothers at Shoreline in October. They'll be in your neck of the woods next June.
They're so, so good live. Still fronted by Glenn (still with that choir boy voice) and Chris with a fantastic, younger backing band behind them.
@@jeremyb5640 Nice. Might see Hall and Oats the week before, same place. Getting nostalgic in my mid -life.
Jools Holland is responsible for possibly the best piano solo in pop history at the end of Uncertain Smile by The The.
I like the early Squeeze sound. Not so much once they started getting airplay in the US.
good 1. Thank you for catching this tune. Oh Yeh. There is a lot more to there styles.
Great to hear you react to Squeeze, Justin. One of my wife's favorite bands. Cool for Cats is not their best one to start with IMO, but it's not bad. To bad you didn't start with the track that started after CFCs finished. That one, Pulling Mussels From a Shell is a truly awesome track and definitely worth reacting to.
In quintessence is a great squeeze song also
Not sure what TV show the first verse is about but the second probably refers to "The Sweeney." A British cop show that ran from 1975-1978.
Justin, now you have to do 'Up the Junction'. Squeeze were the Kinks of their day. Intelligent story telling over catchy hooks.
Great songwriters. Classics.
Art pop is a pretty good description. Other bands to check in a similar vein: Split Enz, maybe early INXS. Crowded House is a later offshoot of Split Enz. Squeeze is British, Split Enz ( New Zealand ), INXS ( Australia ).
Definitely check out Up The Junction for some fantastic lyrics. Cool For Cats was the first single I bought by Squeeze and it's great for a cockney like me to hear a song sung with a cockney voice!
I'm pretty sure Cool for Cats is not the first Squeeze song I'd get someone to listen to, but...
"Tempted" was probably their biggest song, at least in the US. I'm partial to "Goodbye Girl."
EDIT: 1979 was a great year for music, if you knew where to look.
Chris Difford is a vocalist.
Glenn Tilbrook is a singer.
They're an all-time pop songwriting team.
You're already catching into their vibe and you will enjoy going down this path, as I will enjoy watching it.
Pulling Mussels from a Shell, Goodbye Girl, UP THE JUNCTION (😢), Hourglass, Tempted, etc.
All (and more) worth a listen.
Jools Holland, after he left Squeeze, hosts a regular music TV show on the BBC and has done so for years. He also fronts his own Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and that is worth checking out. He's played Glastonbury a few times.
Thanks for coming through on trying out this smart and talented band. I love the cockney accent on this one and the slang. In the last first he says, "I think I've got a pull" pulling a bird is like a fisherman getting a bite only it refers to getting a girl interested. This version is 30 seconds longer than the single version which doesn't have that disco segment. Really they were more of a New Wave band. I recognized that next track snippet, 'Another Nail in My Heart' which is another classic.
Difford and Tillbrook formed the band in 1974 and began writing songs together, the Lennon/McCartney of the group. Jools Holland joined them soon at only age 16, you may recognize his name, he's played "as a blisteringly energetic, piano-pounding performer of boogie-woogie, jazz, and R&B" according to AllMusic. He left in 1980, formed his own guitar-less group, released solo albums, did session work then scored a job on TV as host of "the seminal British music series The Tube" (you can find clips on RUclips I'm sure).
Squeeze broke up in '82 but reformed 3 years later, Holland rejoined but left again in '90, he wasn't getting enough tracks on the albums.
I recommend Labelled with Love. A completely different sound but with great storytelling lyrics
Saw them at the Hope and Anchor pub, I think it was, in Islington in one of their early gigs (probably around July 1977). At that time they seemed a fairly standard R&B band (check out their early Packet of Three EP and see what you think), but I was wrong. They turned into what I'd reckon to be lyrically one of the best singles bands of the late 20th century, along with Ian Dury and Pulp. That break that you mention always reminds me of the percussive break in Moonshake by Can, by the way.
Quite an atypical example of their output. Mostly they did beatles-inflected guitar pop but their range encompassed various other styles. I'm sure that CD has got all their best stuff. My particular favourites are their first single Take Me I'm Yours and the much later Paul Carrack fronted Tempted.
Pleased to see you delving into different aspects of pop music history, Justin! And you're kind of right, Squeeze are an art-rock-pop band started by a couple of young song writing friends (older, now) that draws on influences including The Beatles, 10cc, and the pub rock scene in London. Consider the music of Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, even Ian Dury & the Blockheads (who mixed a touch of disco and jazz with 'punk' attitude and rockabilly). You may want to brush up on some British slang, even some Cockney rhyming slang, to understand some of the (very clever) lyrics a bit better. Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook are great pop-rock songwriters (the usual lead singer is Tillbrook, with a higher voice). They broke up their partnership and friendship for a few years. Thankfully, in recent years things were patched up and the band has resumed working, even releasing new material.
Pianist Jools Holland has, since leaving Squeeze the first time, become a significant British TV personality and live music presenter on the BBC.
Squeeze are good musicians, and offer high energy in concert. First saw and heard them live as opening act for Elvis Costello & the Attractions on tour in January 1981. Saw and heard them again in 2016 (with Tillbrook and Difford being the sole original members) - where one could pay at the start for a live recording and at the end of the evening be given a CD package of that concert. And if we waited a few minutes, the musicians then came out to sign the CDs. I got my CDs signed that night.
Later this year, Squeeze will join the band, Madness, for a series of concerts in the UK. Good Squeeze songs include "Goodbye Girl", "Up the Junction", Pulling Mussels from the Shell", "Another Nail Through My Heart", "Tempted", "Black Coffee In Bed", etc. By the way, having lost the royalties to their early, successful recorded catalogue to another company, the band re-recorded their hits in a recently released package so that they can now receive royalties from those (popular) earlier songs. And the new versions (recorded with new equipment and older voices) sounded shockingly close to the original recordings.
You ought to give Ian Dury And The Blockheads a listen. 'Reasons to be Cheerful', 'and, 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm stick', are essential.
Really looking forward to your further dive into Squeeze. I won't bother recommending any specific tracks, since the tracks I'd choose are already well represented in the comments.
Paul Carrick of Squeeze the one who sang lead on "Tempted" has been part of Roger Waters tour band since forever. I suggest you check out video from the "In the Flesh" live concert. Besides that he's played with just about everybody who's anybody progressive to edgy pop. Squeeze does have a certain reputation.
Labelled With Love, is their best imo. Fantastic lyrics
English Pop Punk. not disco but catchy enough for clubs. They have many sounds but this song is the song that most folks recognize first as well as Black Coffee In Bed.
I did not expect you to dive into Squeeze. Great starting point. Squeeze is a band I came to right around the time of their first breakup, but the reunited and I have been with them ever since. What you are going to find is that most of their songs are about losers. Not necessarily losers in life, but losers in the moment. Difford and Tilbrook are two of the best songwriters ever--very much in the same tradition as Lennon and McCartney. Their best song, imo, is "Black Coffee in Bed." Hope you get to that one. Also, try "Goodbye Girl."