Squeeze
are an English band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s. They are known in the UK for their hit songs "Cool for Cats," "Up the Junction," "Tempted," "Black Coffee In Bed," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," and "Hourglass." Though not quite as commercially successful in the U.S., "Tempted", "Hourglass" and "853-5937" were all American chart hits for Squeeze, and the band have a dedicated following there and continue to attract new fans. [1] All of Squeeze's hits were written by band members Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. [2]
The group formed in London in 1974, and first broke up in 1982. Squeeze then reformed in 1985, and broke up again in 1999. The band has reunited for tours through the United States and United Kingdom in 2007 and 2008.
Squeeze confirmed during an interview at the V Festival in 2008, that they plan to write a new record of material in 2009, during and after another tour of the United States.
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SQUEEZE TICKETS
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Career
First incarnation: 1974–82
The band's founding members in March 1974 were
Chris Difford (guitar, vocals, lyrics),
Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar, music),
Jools Holland (keyboards), and
Paul Gunn (drums). The group played under several names, most frequently "Captain Trundlow's Sky Company" or "Skyco", before selecting the band name "Squeeze" as a facetious tribute to
The Velvet Underground's oft-derided 1973 album
of the same name.
Gilson Lavis replaced Gunn on drums and
Harry Kakoulli joined on bass in 1976.
Squeeze's early career was spent around
Deptford in SE London, where they were part of a lively local music scene which included
Alternative TV and
Dire Straits. The group's early singles and debut
EP, 1977's
Packet of Three, were released on the
Deptford Fun City Label.
Squeeze's first EP and most of its
self-titled debut album (1978) were produced by
John Cale for
A&M Records. Ironically, Cale had been a member of Velvet Underground from whose album Squeeze took their name. However, the debut album's two hit singles ("Take Me I'm Yours" and "Bang Bang") were produced by the band themselves, as the label found Cale's recordings uncommercial.
In the
United States and
Canada, the band and album were dubbed
U.K. Squeeze
due to legal conflicts arising from a contemporary American band called "Tight Squeeze". The "U.K." was dropped for all subsequent releases. In
Australia, the same name change was used due to legal conflicts arising from an existing Sydney-based band also called "Squeeze". Albums in Australia were credited to
U.K. Squeeze
up to and including
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
.
The band's second album,
Cool for Cats
(1979), contained the band's two highest charting UK singles in "Cool For Cats" and "Up The Junction", both of which peaked at #2.
John Bentley replaced Harry Kakoulli on bass in 1979 following the release of the LP.
Argybargy
(1980), the band's third album, was also a UK hit. It was additionally a mild breakthrough in North America, as the single "Another Nail In My Heart" was a #56 hit in Canada, and second single "Pulling Mussels From The Shell" received
airplay on U.S.
rock radio stations.
Keyboardist Jools Holland left the band for a solo career in 1980. Keyboard duties were taken over by highly-rated singer-keyboardist
Paul Carrack, a former member of British soul-pop band
Ace, who scored a major international hit with the song "How Long." Carrack had also been a member of
Roxy Music.
In 1981 the band cut perhaps their best-known album,
East Side Story
. It was produced by
Elvis Costello and
Roger Bechirian, and featured Carrack's lead vocals on the radio hit "Tempted". Carrack himself left after the release of
East Side Story
, and was replaced by
Don Snow. This line-up recorded the
Sweets From A Stranger
LP in 1982. Negative reviews, the stresses of touring, and conflict between band members led Difford and Tilbrook to break up the band later that year, after releasing a final single, "
Annie Get Your Gun".
Difford and Tilbrook years: 1983–84
Difford and Tilbrook continued to work together, and released one self-titled album as the
duo Difford & Tilbrook in 1984. Although it is not officially a Squeeze album, to many fans
Difford & Tilbrook
is considered a "lost" Squeeze LP because Difford and Tilbrook were themselves the only constant members of Squeeze. Several Difford & Tilbrook tracks have been featured on officially-sanctioned Squeeze
compilations.
The duo also contributed to a musical written and staged in Deptford during this period, entitled
Labelled with Love
and based in large part on the music of Squeeze.
Second incarnation: 1985–99
Squeeze re-formed to play a one night
charity gig in 1985, with all five members from the 1980
Argybargy
period -- Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Bentley. The performance was such a success that the band unanimously agreed to resume
recording and touring as Squeeze. Searching for a different sound, the band replaced Bentley with bassist
Keith Wilkinson from the
Difford & Tilbrook
sessions. This line-up released the 1985 LP
Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
.
The new LP featured complex double-tracked keyboard parts which could not be duplicated by a single keyboard player in a live setting, so Jools' brother Chris Holland played a few gigs as a second keyboardist in 1985. However, Chris Holland was quickly replaced by an official new member
Andy Metcalfe of the
Soft Boys and
The Egyptians. A bassist in those groups, Metcalfe would play keyboards with Squeeze. His tenure as the band's sixth member would last until 1988.
In 1987, the sextet recorded the album
Babylon And On
. A successful release on both sides of the Atlantic, this album contained the band's only US top 40 hits in "Hourglass" and "853-5937"
Metcalfe left the band in 1988, leaving the Difford/Tilbrook/Holland/Wilkinson/Lavis line-up to record 1989's
Frank
. The LP was a commercial disappointment that spun off no charting singles in the UK, and the band was dropped from their long-time A&M label.
Adding a new second keyboard player in the person of
Matt Irving, the band issued the live album
A Round And A Bout
on
I.R.S. Records in March 1990. Jools Holland left Squeeze again in early 1990, and was not immediately replaced. In his stead, the band used session musicians such as Irving (who was no longer an official band member), Snow,
Steve Nieve,
Bruce Hornsby and
Carol Isaacs for the 1991 release
Play
, which came out on the Reprise label. This release again spawned no UK hits, although in the US the singles "Satisfied" and "Crying In Your Sleep" received significant airplay on modern rock stations, and in Canada "Satisfied" was a top 50 hit. However, Reprise dropped the band after this one album. Then drummer Gilson Lavis was let go in 1992, and replaced by Nieve's fellow Attractions band mate
Pete Thomas. Paul Carrack also returned to the band in 1993, although by this point Squeeze was not so much a band as it was a trade name for Difford and Tilbrook plus
sidemen.
Squeeze re-signed to A&M in time for 1993's
Some Fantastic Place
. After a period of commercial decline in the UK, lead single "Third Rail" hit #39, becoming Squeeze's first UK
Top 40 hit in six years.
Squeeze's lineup during the mid-1990s changed constantly. Though not an official Squeeze member,
Aimee Mann was featured on vocals and guitar at many Squeeze shows during 1994. Thomas also exited the band that year, and Carrack doubled on snare and keyboards for a few gigs before session drummer
Andy Newmark was brought in. Then - still in 1994 - Carrack left, which allowed keyboardist Andy Metcalfe to return to the band for a short spell, playing on some live dates. Drummer
Kevin Wilkinson (no relation to bassist Keith), formerly of
The Waterboys, was also added around this time, replacing Newmark. He lasted through the 1995 album
Ridiculous
, which was recorded by the quartet of Difford, Tilbrook, Wilkinson and Wilkinson. The album spun off three minor hits in the UK: "This Summer", "Electric Trains" and "Heaven Knows". ("Heaven Knows" was used as the closing song in the 1995 film
Hackers
starring
Angelina Jolie.) As well, a minimally remixed version of "This Summer" became a #32 UK hit in 1996, a year after the original version peaked at #36. Despite this, A&M once again dropped Squeeze from their roster in late 1996.
Following the release of
Ridiculous
,
Don Snow (now known as Jon Savannah) returned to Squeeze yet again as their touring keyboard player, but by 1997, the Squeeze line-up had officially dwindled down to just Difford and Tilbrook. That year the duo, billed as Squeeze, released the non-album single "Down In The Valley" as a fundraising single for
Charlton Athletic F.C. Tilbrook formed the Quixotic label for this and future Squeeze-related releases, as well as releases by other artists.
For the 1998 album
Domino
, the band was again a quintet consisting of Difford, Tilbrook, bassist
Hilaire Penda, ex-
Del Amitri drummer
Ashley Soan, and yet another returning keyboardist in the person of Chris Holland.
Nick Harper often performed with this version of Squeeze, providing additional guitar and vocals. In January 1999, just days before a planned tour, Chris Difford suddenly announced that he was taking a 'hiatus' from Squeeze. The last venue for Squeeze with Chris was The Charlotte, Leicester, England. The band subsequently continued as a quartet led by Tilbrook, with
Jim Kimberley replacing Soan on some tour dates, and Chris Holland exiting in the
autumn to be replaced by Tilbrook's other frequent writing partner
Chris Braide.
On 27 November 1999 in
Aberdeen,
Scotland, Squeeze played their final gig before breaking up again. Difford and Tilbrook embarked on separate solo careers shortly thereafter.
Solo years: 2000–06
In 2003 Difford and Tilbrook collaborated on a song for the first time since
Domino.
The track, "Where I Can Be Your Friend," appeared on Tilbrook's well-reviewed second solo album,
Transatlantic Ping Pong
. In 2004 the pair worked with
music journalist Jim Drury on the retrospective
Squeeze: Song By Song
. In this book they declared they had become better friends since breaking up the band than they ever were while Squeeze was together.
However, a 2004 attempt by the
VH1 show
Bands Reunited to reassemble the mid-1980s line-up of Squeeze (Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Wilkinson and Lavis) ended in failure. While bassist Keith Wilkinson was favourable to the idea and drummer Gilson Lavis expressed some interest, Jools Holland felt he was too busy with current projects to participate, and, crucially, both Tilbrook and Difford expressed reservations about working together in a band context at that point in time.
Still, Difford and Tilbrook's friendship continued, and in December 2005 Difford sat in for a few songs at a Glenn Tilbrook solo gig in Glasgow.
Third incarnation: 2007-present
In early 2007 it was announced that Difford and Tilbrook would reform Squeeze for a series of shows throughout the latter half of the year, in support of Universal and Warner's re-issuing of the band's back catalogue and the release of a new 'best of' album,
Essential Squeeze
, on April 30th. Jools Holland and Gilson Lavis were unable to take part in the series of shows, as they were touring under the "Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra" name for most of the year. However, John Bentley re-joined on bass for the first time since Squeeze's last reunion show in 1985. The rest of the lineup was fleshed out by members of Tilbrook's touring band, The Fluffers: Stephen Large (keyboards) and Simon Hanson (drums).
On 7 July 2007, at the "Return to the Summer of Love Party," at
Hawkhurst,
Kent, Difford and Tilbrook, each singing and playing
acoustic guitars, played a seven song set. They played, in order, "Take Me I'm Yours," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Is that Love?," "Tempted," "Labelled with Love," "Cool for Cats," and "Up the Junction." The first actual full-band Squeeze show since 1999 took place less than a week later at their old haunt, "The Albany" (Deptford) on Thursday 12th July which was actually billed as a "warm up" gig prior to the upcoming US tour, this was then followed by
GuilFest 2007. They toured the U.S. in August 2007, supported on various dates by
Fountains of Wayne,
Will Hoge,
Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and
Cheap Trick.
In November 2007, the band released
Five Live: On Tour in America
, a
live CD consisting of recordings from the American tour. The title referred to the number of people in the band, not the number of tracks on the 19-song CD.
Television appearances and live shows in the U.S. and UK followed throughout 2008, including a headline appearance at
Beautiful Days on 15 August. After the success of the 2007/8 tours (and successful sales of re-released Squeeze records and the
Five Live: On Tour in America
album) it was confirmed that the current Squeeze line-up will record a new album through 2009, where they already have a tour of the States planned.
Band member timeline
ImageSize = width:850 height:auto barincrement:25
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1974 till:01/09/2009
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:lead value:orange legend:Lead Guitar
id:guitar value:tan1 legend:Guitar
id:bass value:gray(0.8) legend:Bass
id:drums value:yellowgreen legend:Drums
id:keys value:powderblue2 legend:Keyboards
id:keys2 value:yellow legend:Add'l Keyboards
id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1974
BarData =
bar:Glenn text:"Glenn Tilbrook"
bar:Chris text:"Chris Difford"
bar:Jools text:"Jools Holland"
bar:Paul text:"Paul Carrack"
bar:Don text:"Don Snow"
bar:ChrisH text:"Christopher Holland"
bar:ChrisB text:"Chris Braide"
bar:Stephen text:"Stephen Large"
bar:Andy text:"Andy Metcalfe"
bar:Matt text:"Matt Irving"
bar:Harry text:"Harry Kakouli"
bar:John text:"John Bentley"
bar:Keith text:"Keith Wilkinson"
bar:Hilare text:"Hilaire Penda"
bar:PaulG text:"Paul Gunn"
bar:Gil text:"Gilson Lavis"
bar:Pete text:"Pete Thomas"
bar:Kevin text:"Kevin Wilkinson"
bar:Ash text:"Ash Soan"
bar:Simon text:"Simon Hanson"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Glenn from:01/01/1974 till:31/12/1982 color:lead
bar:Glenn from:01/01/1985 till:30/11/1999 color:lead
bar:Glenn from:01/06/2007 till:end color:lead
bar:Chris from:01/01/1974 till:31/12/1982 color:guitar
bar:Chris from:01/01/1985 till:31/01/1999 color:guitar
bar:Chris from:01/06/2007 till:end color:guitar
bar:Jools from:01/01/1974 till:31/12/1980 color:keys
bar:Jools from:01/01/1985 till:31/12/1989 color:keys
bar:Paul from:01/01/1981 till:31/12/1981 color:keys
bar:Paul from:01/01/1993 till:06/06/1994 color:keys
bar:Don from:01/01/1982 till:31/12/1982 color:keys
bar:ChrisH from:01/06/1985 till:01/08/1985 color:keys2
bar:ChrisH from:01/01/1998 till:01/08/1999 color:keys
bar:ChrisB from:02/08/1999 till:30/11/1999 color:keys
bar:Stephen from:01/06/2007 till:end color:keys
bar:Andy from:02/08/1985 till:31/12/1988 color:keys2
bar:Andy from:07/06/1994 till:31/12/1994 color:keys
bar:Matt from:01/01/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:keys2
bar:PaulG from:01/01/1974 till:31/12/1976 color:drums
bar:Gil from:01/01/1977 till:31/12/1982 color:drums
bar:Gil from:01/01/1985 till:31/12/1992 color:drums
bar:Pete from:01/01/1993 till:01/06/1994 color:drums
bar:Kevin from:01/01/1995 till:01/06/1996 color:drums
bar:Ash from:01/01/1998 till:30/11/1999 color:drums
bar:Simon from:01/06/2007 till:end color:drums
bar:Harry from:01/01/1974 till:31/12/1979 color:bass
bar:John from:01/01/1980 till:30/11/1982 color:bass
bar:Keith from:01/01/1985 till:31/12/1996 color:bass
bar:Hilare from:01/01/1998 till:30/11/1999 color:bass
bar:John from:01/06/2007 till:end color:bass
LineData =
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at:01/03/1979 color:black layer:back
at:20/02/1980 color:black layer:back
at:08/05/1981 color:black layer:back
at:01/05/1982 color:black layer:back
at:01/05/1985 color:black layer:back
at:07/07/1987 color:black layer:back
at:01/09/1989 color:black layer:back
at:19/10/1991 color:black layer:back
at:19/06/1993 color:black layer:back
at:28/06/1995 color:black layer:back
at:09/06/1998 color:black layer:back
Discography
Studio albums
- Squeeze
, March 1978
- Cool for Cats
, March 1979 (UK #45)
- Argybargy
, February 1980 (UK #32, Canada #26, U.S. #71)
- East Side Story
, May 1981 (UK #19, Canada #29, U.S. #44)
- Sweets from a Stranger
, May 1982 (UK #20, Canada #26, U.S. #32)
- Difford & Tilbrook: Difford & Tilbrook
, July 1984 (UK #47, U.S. #55)
- Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
, August 1985 (UK #31, U.S. #61)
- Babylon and On
, September 1987 (UK #14, Canada #91, U.S. #36)
- Frank
, September 1989 (UK #58, U.S. #113)
- Play
, August 1991 (UK #41)
- Some Fantastic Place
, September 1993 (UK #26, U.S. #182)
- Ridiculous
, November 1995 (UK #50)
- Domino
, November 1998
EPs
- Packet of Three
, July 1977, November 1979 (reissue)
Live recordings
- A Round and a Bout
, March 1990 (UK #50, U.S. #163)
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall
, 1999
- Five Live: On Tour in America
, November 2007
Compilations
- 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten-Inch Record
(included two Squeeze
singles, three remixed "Cool For Cats" singles, plus "Goodbye Girl" live), U.S. 1979
- Singles - 45's and Under
, November 1982 (UK #3, U.S. #47)
- Classics, Vol. 25
, 1987
- Greatest Hits
, April 1992 (UK #6)
- Piccadilly Collection
, August 1996
- Excess Moderation
, November 1996
- Six Of One...
(6-CD box set), October 1997
- Master Series
, November 1998
- Up The Junction
, August 2000
- Big Squeeze: The Very Best Of Squeeze
, June 2002 (UK #8)
- Gold
(retitled North American issue of Big Squeeze
), 2005
- The Squeeze Story
, June 2006
- Essential Squeeze
, April 2007 (UK #25)
- The Complete BBC Sessions
, September 2008
Singles
Note that the three 1984 singles by Difford & Tilbrook are included on this chart. All these singles have been reissued on various Squeeze compilations, and are retroactively credited on these compilations as being by Squeeze.
Year
| Title
| Chart positions (N/R) = Not released as a single in that country
| Album
|
UK Singles Chart [3]
| Australia
| Canada
| Ireland
| U.S. Hot 100/Bubbling under
| U.S. Mainstream Rock
| U.S. Modern Rock
|
1978
| "Take Me, I'm Yours"
| #19
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| U.K. Squeeze
|
1978
| "Bang Bang"
| #49
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| U.K. Squeeze
|
1978
| "Goodbye Girl"
| #63
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cool for Cats
|
1979
| "Cool for Cats"
| #2
| #5
| -
| #8
| -
| -
| -
| Cool for Cats
|
1979
| "Up the Junction"
| #2
| -
| -
| #3
| -
| -
| -
| Cool for Cats
|
1979
| "Slap and Tickle"
| #24
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cool for Cats
|
1979
| "Christmas Day"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Non-LP
|
1980
| "Another Nail In My Heart"
| #17
| -
| #56
| #10
| -
| -
| -
| Argybargy
|
1980
| "If I Didn't Love You"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Argybargy
|
1980
| "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)"
| #44
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Argybargy
|
1980
| "Farfisa Beat"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Argybargy
|
1981
| "Is That Love"
| #35
| -
| -
| #25
| -
| -
| -
| East Side Story
|
1981
| "Tempted"
| #41
| #95
| #45
| -
| #49
| #8
| -
| East Side Story
|
1981
| "Labelled With Love"
| #4
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| East Side Story
|
1981
| "Messed Around"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| East Side Story
|
1982
| "Black Coffee in Bed"
| #51
| -
| -
| -
| 103
| #26
| -
| Sweets From a Stranger
|
1982
| "When the Hangover Strikes"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Sweets From a Stranger
|
1982
| "I've Returned"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Sweets From a Stranger
|
1982
| "Annie Get Your Gun"
| #43
| #52
| -
| #16
| -
| #40
| -
| Non-LP
|
1984
| Difford & Tilbrook
: "Love's Crashing Waves"
| #57
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Difford & Tilbrook
|
1984
| Difford & Tilbrook
: "Hope Fell Down"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Difford & Tilbrook
|
1984
| Difford & Tilbrook
: "Picking Up The Pieces"
| '''(N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Difford & Tilbrook
|
1985
| "Last Time Forever"
| #45
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1985
| "No Place Like Home"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1985
| "Hits of the Year"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| #39
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1985
| "Heartbreaking World"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1985
| "By Your Side"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1986
| "King George Street"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti
|
1987
| "Hourglass"
| #16
| #90
| #23
| #24
| #15
| #22
| -
| Babylon and On
|
1987
| "Trust Me To Open My Mouth"
| #72
| -
| -
| -
| -
| 50
| -
| Babylon and On
|
1987
| "The Waiting Game"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Babylon and On
|
1988
| "853-5937"
| -
| -
| #50
| -
| #32
| #37
| -
| Babylon and On
|
1988
| "Footprints"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Babylon and On
|
1989
| "If It's Love"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| #7
| Frank
|
1990
| "Love Circles"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Frank
|
1990
| "Annie Get Your Gun (live)"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| A Round & A Bout
|
1991
| "Sunday Street"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Play
|
1991
| "Satisfied"
| -
| -
| #47
| -
| -
| 41
| #3
| Play
|
1991
| "Crying In My Sleep"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| #14
| Play
|
1993
| "Third Rail"
| #39
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Some Fantastic Place
|
1993
| "Everything In The World"
| (N/R)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| #9
| Some Fantastic Place
|
1993
| "Some Fantastic Place"
| #73
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Some Fantastic Place
|
1993
| "Loving You Tonight"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Some Fantastic Place
|
1994
| "It's Over"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Some Fantastic Place
|
1995
| "This Summer"
| #36
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Ridiculous
|
1995
| "Electric Trains"
| #44
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Ridiculous
|
1996
| "Heaven Knows"
| #27
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Ridiculous
|
1996
| "This Summer (remix)"
| #32
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Ridiculous
|
1998
| "Down in the Valley"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Non-LP
|
References
- Songfacts interview with Squeeze
- Allmusic biography
- British Hit Singles & Albums