Squeeze is a British group of the new wave , formed in 1974 in London , England , and punk -, pub -, glam - and art rock motifs combined in its work with the classic pop tradition of the 1960s. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook (the first of them wrote the lyrics, the second - the music) never hid the fact that Lennon and McCartney are considered their idols. Squeeze (according to Allmusic) did not come close to the peaks that The Beatles climbed, "for reasons that are more likely to speak in their favor ... Difford and Tilbrook wrote ironic, sophisticated songs that met pop standards on the one hand and rich literary ones on the other. and musical allusions. " [one]
| Squeeze | |
|---|---|
| basic information | |
| Genres | new wave pop rock power pop pub rock |
| Years | 1974 - 1982 1985 - 1989 2007 - present |
| A country |  Great Britain |
| City | London england |
| Labels | A&M Records Reprise records Ark 21 records IRS Records Quixotic records |
| Composition | Chris Difford Glenn Tilbrook John bentley Stephen Large Simon Hanson |
| Former the participants | Jules Holland Paul Gunn Harry caculli Gilson lavis Paul Carrac Don Snow Chris Holland Kate Wilkinson Andy Metcalf Matt Irving Pete thomas Kevin Wilkinson Ashley Soen Hilaire Penda Scream braid |
| Squeezefan.com | |
If Britain recognized Squeeze right away (the singles “Take Me I'm Yours” and “Up the Junction” became the top 10 hits) [2] , then in the USA they went to success with difficulty and hit the top 40 for the first time only in 1987, ten years after the release of the debut album, but also overseas gradually Squeeze gained authority. Their stuff such as “Another Nail In My Heart”, “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)”, “Tempted”, “Black Coffee In Bed” (along with the two hits mentioned) often sounded on American radio, and the Singles collection 45's and Under (# 47, 1983) [3] became platinum in the United States.
Content
Group History
The history of the group began when Chris Difford placed an announcement on the window of a music store, and another aspiring author and guitarist Glenn Tilbrook responded to it . In March 1974, keyboardist Jules Holland and drummer Paul Gunn joined them. The quartet called itself Squeeze - in honor of (according to the general opinion of the most “dubious” (in terms of both quality and authorship) album Velvet Underground and soon gained fame on the London pub scene , although it performed soft and elaborate music that resembled little typical pub rock.
In 1976, bassist Harry Kakoulli joined the line-up, while Gann was replaced by drummer Gilson Lavis, and in the recent past, tour manager Chuck Berry . Having recorded a few things for RCA Records (which were rejected by the label), the quintet signed a contract with the newly formed BTM label and management company Miles Copland. BTM went bankrupt in early 1977 , but Copland was able to negotiate with John Cale , and he helped the band record the debut EP Packet of Three , released by Deptford Fun City Records in the summer of 1977. [one]
Cale then signed a contract for the group with A&M Records , a company that had barely recovered from its disastrous three-month “alliance” with Sex Pistols . Released in the spring of 1978, their debut album in Britain - to avoid confusion with the American band Tight Squeeze - was released under the title UK Squeeze (in the USA - Squeeze ). This was preceded by the success of the first single, “Take Me I'm Yours,” which rose to # 19 in the UK Singles Chart in April [2] . The band's early sounding was only partially reflected in it, since John Cale, according to his own taste, shaped its content and smoothed out the pub-rock motifs.
The band's first major international success came from the second Cool for Cats album (two singles from it, the title track and “Up the Junction” rose to # 2 in Britain) [2] , followed by the mini-album 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten- Inch Record EP. Soon after the release of the second album, Kakulli was fired and replaced by John Bentley.
Released in the spring of 1980, Argybargy was well received by critics and brought the group two more British hits: “Another Nail In My Heart” and “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)”. Both songs along with “If I Didn't Love You” were successful in American clubs and college radio. But then a creative crisis emerged in the group: Holland's piano, carried away by tunes in the spirit of boogie-woogie , no longer fit into the intricate arrangements of Difford and Tilbrook. In the fall of 1980, the keyboard player left the band, assembled his own Millionaires squad, and was replaced by Paul Carrack in the band, who had previously played in the Ace pub rock band.
Impressed by the compliments (music critics on both sides of the ocean already called them “the new Lennon - McCartney ”), Difford and Tilbrook tried to create their “ Sergeant ” by recording their 1981 East Side Story album. At first, Dave Edmunds was to become a producer, but ultimately the work was done by Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian. Released in the summer of 1981, East Side Story gathered excellent reviews, but did not bring the expected commercial breakthrough, rising to 19th place in the UK and to 44th in the United States. The single "Tempted" (where Carrak sang) failed in England, but became the first American Top 50 hit. This was followed by the British hit “Labelled With Love”. Karrak left at the end of 1981 and joined the country singer Carlin Carter . He was replaced by Don Snow, a classical pianist who had previously played The Sinceros .
Since their inception, Squeeze has toured and recorded continuously: the first signs of creative fatigue appeared on Sweets From a Stranger . In the USA, he rose to 32 places (and this achievement here remained the highest for the group) [3] , but he was met with cool criticism. The single "Black Coffee in Bed" in England reached only 51st place. In the summer of that year, Squeeze performed triumphantly in New York's Madison Square Garden , however, disappointed with the relative failure, Difford and Tilbrook decided to disband the group six months later. Released shortly after the collapse, the Singles - 45's and Under collection rose to 3rd place in Britain [2] , and eventually became platinum in the United States.
Difford and Tilbrook, although they dismissed Squeeze, did not intend to stop collaborating: they simply wanted to have complete freedom of side creativity, representing themselves as songwriters in the tradition of Ting Peng Ellie. Their songs appeared in the repertoire of Helen Shapiro , Paul Young , Billy Bremner and Jules Holland. The duo also worked on the musical “Labelled With Love” (built entirely on their song material): this production was held in Deptford , England, in the early spring of 1983. The album Difford & Tilbrook (1984), in which, in addition to the smooth sound, the duo showed a new image (long hair, cloaks), had only moderate success. In early 1985, the reformed Squeeze (Difford, Tilbrook, Holland and Lavis - the latter had already worked as a taxi driver by the time) first gave a charity concert, and then went on tour with the new bassist Keith Wilkinson.
The Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti album, released in the fall of 1985, was highly praised by critics, but was not commercialized. In 1986, Andy Metcalfe from Robin Hitchcock's band The Egyptians , who had previously played (with him) in Soft Boys , joined the group as a second keyboard player. Babylon and On (fall 1987) was an unexpected hit, rising in England to 14th place. The single “Hourglass”, thanks to the active rotation on MTV, became an American hit (# 15, Billboard Hot 100) [4] . After conducting a world tour with the group (during which she again performed on the stage of Madison Square Garden and became the headliner of the festival in Reading ), Metcalfe left the lineup and did not begin to search for a replacement.
The next album Frank (1989) was deprived of the attention of A&M and sold on both sides of the ocean poorly. In the midst of the ensuing tour, the group found out that A&M was breaking the contract with her. At the end of the tour, Holland left Squeeze, taking up a solo career and working on television (for many years he remained the host of the most popular music program).
In the spring of 1990, A Round and a Bout live album was released on IRS Records , and a year later Squeeze signed a contract with Reprise Records and released Play here, an album which was recorded in turn by three keyboardists: Steve Neve, Bruce Hornsby and Matt Irving (in during the ensuing tour with the group, Don Snow and Carol Aizaks played). In 1992, the duo Difford & Tilbrook began to give acoustic concerts, but the group did not split up: on the contrary, Neave became a regular member of it, and Lewis (who joined the Joos Holland band) was replaced by Pete Thomas (as Neve is a member of the Elvis Costello band) The Attractions).
In 1993, Squeeze returned to A&M and released their new album Some Fantastic Place (with Thomas behind the drums and Carrack behind the keyboards): he rose in Britain to 26th place, but went unnoticed in the United States. Then Thomas was replaced by Andy Newmark, and Kate Wilkinson again became the bass player: Ridiculous (1995), which had moderate success, was recorded on this lineup, as were two singles from it, “This Summer” and “ Electric Trains. "
In 1996, the Piccadilly Collection (USA) and the Excess Moderation double (Britain) were released. A year later, A&M released the Six of One ... box set in Britain, where it presented remastered material from the first six albums, plus two bonus tracks on each disc. The second box (with the material for the next six albums) was planned to be released in 1998, but the label ceased to exist, and Squeeze by this time had fulfilled all contractual obligations to it. By signing with independent Quixotic Records , the band released Domino in November 1998. Together with Difford and Tilbrook, the record was recorded by Chris Holland (brother of Jules, keyboards), Healer Penda (bass) and Ashley Soan (drums, ex- Del Amitri ).
Squeeze broke up in 1999, but reunited in 2007 and toured the United States and Britain. [one]
Discography
Studio Albums
- Squeeze (1978)
- Cool for Cats (1979)
- Argybargy (1980)
- East Side Story (1981)
- Sweets from a Stranger (1982)
- Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti (1985)
- Babylon and On (1987)
- Frank (1989)
- Play (1991)
- Some Fantastic Place (1993)
- Ridiculous (1995)
- Domino (1998)
EP's
- Packet of Three (1977)
Live Albums
- A Round and a Bout (1990)
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1999)
- Five Live (2007)
Collections
- Singles - 45's and Under (1982)
- Classics, Vol. 25 (1987)
- Greatest Hits (1992)
- Piccadilly collection (1996)
- Excess Moderation (1996)
- Six Of One ... (6-CD Box Set), 1997
- Master Series (1998)
- Up The Junction (2000)
- Big Squeeze: The Very Best Of Squeeze (2002)
- Gold (USA, 2005)
- The Squeeze Story (2006)
- Essential Squeeze (2007)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Squeeze . www.allmusic.com. Date of treatment January 18, 2010. Archived March 3, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Squeeze UK Hits . www.chartstats.com. Date of treatment January 18, 2010. Archived March 3, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Squeeze Billboard albums . www.allmusic.com. Date of treatment January 18, 2010. Archived March 3, 2012.
- ↑ Squeeze Billboard singles . www.allmusic.com. Date of treatment January 18, 2010. Archived March 3, 2012.