With 13 studio albums already behind them, Squeeze have just released their fourteenth – Cradle To the Grave, featuring the first collection of new songs from Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook since 1998.
Songs from ‘Cradle To The Grave’ will feature in the forthcoming TV comedy ‘Cradle To Grave’, based on the life of writer and broadcaster Danny Baker. The series, set on a council estate in the 70s, stars comedian Peter Kay as Danny’s father. NME writer turned TV presenter and DJ, Danny was brought up in Deptford, the old stomping ground of the band, and Squeeze were asked to become involved at an early stage.
Glenn recalls: “When I read the book, I got in contact with Danny and said that I thought we could do something together with his book. Danny was already talking with (co-writer) Jeff Pope about a TV series and the mood and sentiment of Cradle were completely in sync. Danny and Jeff both loved it and everything else followed on from there.”
“The scripts were inspiring; hugely funny. It tapped into a period that lyrically I was very familiar with, as I grew up in the same neighbourhood as Danny,” says Chris. “We have been on location to see how it is going. It gave us a spring in our step to see the quality of filming and the direction and the attention to detail. It was very heartening and we are grateful to be involved in something that is so refreshing and also represents our past – we went to the same school, wore the same uniform, fell in love with same art teacher!”
Squeeze formed in 1973 after Glenn responded to an ad Chris had placed in a newsagent’s window. Their first EP ‘Packet Of Three’ came out in the summer of ‘77 on Deptford Fun City, a label housed in the same offices as the punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue where Danny Baker was making his first steps as a music writer. Squeeze went on to write a dazzling collection of hook-filled hits including ‘Cool For Cats’, ‘Take Me I’m Yours’, ‘Another Nail In My Heart,’ ‘Pulling Mussels (From the Shell),’ ‘Tempted,’ ‘Black Coffee In Bed’, ‘Labelled With Love’ and many more, a roll call of pop standards that saw them awarded the Ivor Novello for Outstanding Contribution To British Music in 2008.
Over the years there have been solo careers and occasional separations, but the songwriting duo Chris and Glenn are stronger now than they’ve ever been. “We reformed Squeeze in 2007,” says Glenn. “Things went so well, here we are eight years later. Four years ago we agreed that if we were to carry on, we really needed to work on new material.”
Chris says of their fresh songs: “We’ve grown up a lot in the last few years, musically. We still love and own our past, but as musicians we needed to grow.”
Squeeze perform at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on 12 October.
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