Squeeze

"Squeeze was a quality group that always had interesting material. They did well, and sold records for years as catalog, but we never sold with them what we wanted to: 'Tempted' came close, and 'Black Coffee In Bed' was great, but they never gave us that one big song. Still, they were a clever, tremendous band that would make any label proud to have them, as we were."--Jerry Moss

Squeeze's first album was released as U.K. Squeeze because there was another band in the U.S. named Squeeze.

"I think there have been times when A&M has been ready to push us, and we haven't delivered the right record. Or there have been other times, earlier on in our career, when we delivered to the right record, but A&M didn't know quite what to make of us," Glenn Tilbrook told Dave DiMartino.

The only 5-inch vinyl single issued by A&M was 'Another Nail in My Heart/If I Didn't Love You' by Squeeze.

In Britain, the "Goodbye Girl" single was first issued as a limited edition of 10,000 units with the world's first three-dimensional sculptured sleeve.

The single "Cool for Cats" was A&M Records biggest selling single in Britain to date in 1979. By May it sold more than 500,000 copies. 

From 1972 to 1980, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook wrote between 600 and 900 songs.

The group disbanded in 1982. Difford and Tilbrook went on to record a self-titled album for A&M Records. The album did not sell well and Squeeze was reformed in 1985.

East Side Story took three weeks to record while its predecessor Argybargy took almost four months, Difford told Billboard.

For Babylon and On, A&M released its first ever 3-inch promotional CD.

 

Squeeze: Cool For Cats
Squeeze: The Squeeze 10-Inch
Greatest Hits presss release

Some Fantastic Place Tour: Third Rail Live at KBCO


Copyright by Al Marks. Used by permission.

Sources
  1. Squeeze's New-Wave Circus. James Henke. Rolling Stone, July 24, 1980.
  2. Squeeze Squeezing Far Broader Style with Costello As Producer. Sam Sutherland. Billboard, July 4,1981.
  3. Squeeze LP Could Be Pivotal in Career. Dave DiMartino. Billboard, September 26, 1987.
  4. Squeeze Play. Fran Fried. New Haven (CT) Register, December 7, 1993.
Recording Years / Label
1978-1998 -  A&M Records
Name Member Years Instruments
Chris Difford guitar, vocals
Gilson Lavis drums
Glenn Tilbrook guitar, keyboards, vocals
Harry Kakouilli bass
John Bentley bass
Jools Holland keyboards
Keith Wilkinson bass
Paul Carrack keyboards, vocals
Name Birth Death
Chris Difford 1954-11-04
Gilson Lavis 1951-06-27
Glenn Tilbrook 1957-08-31
Harry Kakouilli
John Bentley 1951-04-16
Jools Holland 1955-01-24
Keith Wilkinson 1958-06-11 1999-07-17
Paul Carrack 1951-04-22
Name See associated acts
Chris Difford Difford & TilbrookU.K. Squeeze
Glenn Tilbrook Difford & TilbrookU.K. Squeeze
Harry Kakouilli True Life Confessions
Jools Holland Klark KentU.K. SqueezeJools Holland

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