Login Lounge, Camberley: 29 April 2023
The first gig of 2023 and it is a special one, as it's not every day you get to see a songwriting legend in an up close setting. Here we are, in the relaxed setting of the Login Lounge, with a hundred or so others, to see Chris Difford, the main lyricist for Squeeze, who, with his old chum Glenn Tilbrook, has produced something like 8 Top10 albums as well as a host of Top40 singles.
It would not be unreasonable to hold the craftmanship of their songs up with the very best in British music - and I do mean including Lennon and McCartney and Ray Davies.
But now we can see the man who has written so many witty and wry lyrics over the years. Squeeze were another of the bands that formed a backdrop to my youth, they were just always there, with those great songs. You could get anyone over 40ish, who might say, 'I don't really know Squeeze' - you could play them 10 - 15 tracks, and they would be like, 'yeah, I know most of those.'
It's nice to get to hear Difford too. Despite being the main lyricist, he didn't always get to sing his songs on the records (Tillbrook's voice was perhaps considered more light and poppy?).
Difford is here with long time collaborator, Melvin Duffy (pedal steel) and Zach Hobbs (guitar) to play some of his tunes, recount some stories (tall tales) from fifty years in the music business, and crack a few gags (he has more than a passing visual resemblance to the late, great Sean Lock too).
We start with Take Me, I'm Yours, a hit from the very early Squeeze days, and we are well and truly off - the trio are very tight tonight and sounding exceptionally good. The pedal steel adds some beautiful texture to the tunes, and mixing the pop with the country, gives it an air of Calexico, and that is no bad thing.
We get a story about meeting Freddie Mercury at Rockfield Studios, with Difford apparently telling him that Bohemian Rhapsody is too long - 'you want to take that middle bit out - it's shit!' He follows up with What Happened, an ode to old friends - and then the lovely, nostalgic look back to childhood, that was 1995's Electric Trains.
The crowd is warming up now, as the subject turns to childhood holidays on Camber Sands. You can see where this is heading - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) - and we are all singing along, "But behind the chalet, the holidays complete, and I feel like William Tell, Maid Marian on her tiptoed feet, Pulling Mussels from a shell."
There is a tale about trying to get into a girlfriend's bedroom, but the only way in was to listen to her record collection. She had one album. Leonard Cohen. He didn't listen to it properly and got dumped. We then get Lamas Fayre, from debut solo album, I Didn't Get Where I Am, about going back to his parents native Northern Ireland.
Then Tempted comes along. He admits Paul Carrick might have sang it better, but he launches into it nonetheless, and the crowd helps him out with the chorus.
Difford recalls going up into the loft to sort it out and finding his old copy of the Tubular Bells album. He brought it down and was quite excited to hear it again - except it seems it doesn't sound as good when you are not out of it on mushrooms (as it seems he was for much of the early 70s).
There's another solo song, Fat As A Fiddle, about food, fitness and getting old - "It's so hard to put my socks on each morning."
The hits keep on coming. This time its the one that is probably most synonymous with Squeeze - Up The Junction - and again, the audience are more than happy to help with the singing.
Labelled With Love is an underrated classic, and its country edge well suited to the way the band are interpreting the songs tonight. That pedal steel really lifts it up and accentuates the melancholy lyrics. Goodbye Girl is probably my favourite on the night. The three of them absolutely nail it, and Duffy and Hobbs both get a chance to shine, with a pair of epic lead breaks that leave me out of breath just listening.
Difford recalls the cheesy pop band, Dollar, on one of their Top Of The Pops appearances. He is less than complimentary about one of the attributes of singer, David Van Day, but we should probably leave that there. We then veer off into a story about meeting Benny Hill, the inspiration for the last tune of the night, in a West London pub.
Cool For Cats! A great way to end it.
Brilliant songs, fantastic musicianship, amusing anecdotes = great night out.
Setlist:
Take Me, I'm Yours
What Happened
Electric Trains
Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
Lamas Fayre
Holding On Tight (?)
Tempted
Fat As A Fiddle
Up The Junction
Cowboys Are My Weakness
Labelled With Love
Goodbye Girl
Cool For Cats