Next month, song maestros Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford’s band Squeeze swing in at the Brighton Centre as part of their mammoth 27-date 50th Anniversary Tour with a stellar support slot by Badly Drawn Boy. There’ll be a generation of fans reeling at this truth: the passing of half a century marks a pause to appreciate this band’s consistently poignant soundtrack to their lives.
Cue the band’s early releases, riding on the first crest of the late 70s new wave scene, with songs such as ‘Take Me I’m Yours’, ‘Slap And Tickle’, ‘Cool For Cats’ and ‘Up The Junction’: all catchy, irresistible and enduring interpretations of young love blended with witty street honesty. Their string of hits continued into the 80s, with perceptive lyrics maturing alongside their audiences, exploring relationship challenges including betrayal, loneliness and desertion with fine examples in ‘Tempted’, ‘Labelled With Love’ and ‘Black Coffee In Bed’. Yet unlike many acts from this era, these are only their early days, not their only days.
The late 80s/90s and beyond witnessed a coming of age for the band and audience alike, which manifested into a string of rock-solid albums. For fans, this was a consolidation of Squeeze’s impeccable songwriting, from the darkest corners of when a relationship turns sour inspiring ‘Slaughtered, Gutted And Heartbroken’, ‘Wicked And Cruel’ and ‘The Truth’. In contrast, their love songs reached a whole new layer of realism and sensitivity with ‘She Doesn’t Have To Shave’ and ‘Walk A Straight Line’, whilst tackling bereavement head on with one of their most emotive and rousing singles to date, ‘Some Fantastic Place’.
This tour is supporting the emergency food charity The Trussell Trust, with cash bucket collections and the audience is invited to bring food donations. There’s only a handful of tickets left up for grabs, so be swift if you want to experience Squeeze’s pick ‘n’ mix selections celebrating this milestone. With more new material in the pipeline this band are showing no signs of deserting us just yet.
Brighton Centre, Saturday 2nd November 2024
Limited tickets still available here
Photo by Sean Scheidt
