Reviews

Glenn Tilbrook breezes through the gig

Squeeze are one of those bands that seem to exist outside of time - you know, the they’ll-never-go-out-of-fashion-because-they’ve-never-been-in-it sort.

Maybe not following fads explains how they've been going since 1974, though numerous personnel have come and gone over the years – most notably Jools Holland, who left fairly early on to go and play boogie-woogie with, well, absolutely anybody! 

I mentioned to some friends that I was going to see Squeeze.

"Who?" was the reply.  A shame considering if I sat them down and played them Essential Squeeze – a compilation of their hits released this year - they'd say, "Oh, I really like this one, who’s it by again?" to more than a few.

Chris Difford during the UK tour opener

Not wishing to bemoan our culturally-malnourished youth any further, I now wish to bemoan the older generation, of whom the majority of tonight's crowd consisted. For the first time in a while, I actually felt young at a gig. 

Another reunion

Despite the band's best efforts, their audience was largely lifeless - not very encouraging for a band playing the first UK gig of their latest reunion tour. 

Still, Chris Difford seemed happy enough and Glenn Tilbrook looked positively Slash-esque at times, with his hair wafting in the fan-assisted breeze and clouds blowing by on the screen backdrop.

The only two constants in Squeeze, it was a pleasure to see the naturalness of their partnership - with Difford's lyrics and deep voice and Tilbrook's music, hard-to-match vocal as well as his fine guitar-playing - at work on stage. 

With the return of pony-tailed John Bentley on bass, and some hat-wearing nattiness from keyboardist Stephen Large and drummer Simon Hanson, it would have been a case musically, if not stylistically of showing the kids how it's done - had any kids been there.

Squeeze played a tight show

Gig highlights

Nearly every song was a classic, but stand-out tracks included Up The Junction, Tempted - with Tilbrook effortlessly stepping in for Paul Carrack's celebrated vocal - Cool For Cats and Hourglass. 

Live, Love Circles revealed charms that are absent on the studio recording and an extended pub sing-a-long version of Black Coffee In Bed made for a fitting end to a highly entertaining set: recent live release 5 Live might well be worth a look-in.

 Isn't it nice when old friends get together?

Squeeze played at the UEA, Norwich, on Monday, 26 November, 2007.