Squeeze
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- For other uses, see Squeeze play (bridge) and Squeeze play (baseball).
Squeeze was a British power pop band formed in London in 1974. They are known for their hit songs "Take Me I'm Yours", "Cool for Cats", "Tempted", "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)", and "Black Coffee in Bed", among many others.
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Membership
The founding members were Chris Difford (guitar, vocals), Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar), Jools Holland (piano), and Paul Gunn (drums). Gilson Lavis replaced Gunn on drums and Harry Kakoulli joined on bass in 1976. Their debut album was produced by John Cale for A&M Records.
John Bentley replaced Harry Kakoulli on bass after the latter's firing in 1978. Jools Holland was next to exit, being replaced with Paul Carrack in 1980. East Side Story, perhaps Squeeze's most successful album, was released in 1981, produced by Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian, and featured Carrack's lead vocals on "Tempted". However, Carrack would leave after the release of East Side Story, and was replaced on keyboards by Don Snow. After Sweets from a Stranger was released in 1982, Difford and Tilbrook broke up the band.
The band re-formed in 1985 with a lineup of Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Keith Wilkinson on bass. Andy Metcalfe of the Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians joined the next year to supplement Holland's keyboards. His tenure with the band would last only a year, however.
Jools Holland left Squeeze again in 1989, and Gilson Lavis left in 1992. By this point Squeeze was basically a trade name for Difford and Tilbrook plus sidemen. Players with Squeeze during the 1990s included drummer Pete Thomas and pianist Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello's Attractions, drummer Kevin Wilkinson, guitarist Nick Harper, Don Snow, Hilaire Penda, Ashley Soan, and Jools's brother Christopher Holland.
In 1999 Chris Difford announced that he was taking a hiatus from working with Tilbrook.
Difford and Tilbrook collaborated with music journalist Jim Drury on the retrospective 'Squeeze: song by song' published in 2004.
Discography
Studio albums
- U.K. Squeeze, Mar 1978
- Cool for Cats, Mar 1979
- Argybargy, Feb 1980
- East Side Story, May 1981
- Sweets From A Stranger, May 1982
- Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, Aug 1985
- Babylon and On, Sep 1987
- Frank, Sep 1989
- Play, Aug 1991
- Some Fantastic Place, Sep 1993
- Ridiculous, Nov 1995
- Domino, Nov 1998
Compilations/live
- Singles - 45's and Under (compilation), Nov 1982
- Classics, Vol. 25 (compilation), 1987
- A Round and a Bout (live), Mar 1990
- Greatest Hits (compilation), Apr 1992
- Piccadilly Collection (compilation), Aug 1996
- Excess Moderation (compilation), Nov 1996
- Six Of One... (box set), Oct 1997
- Master Series (compilation), Nov 1998
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall (live), 1999
- Up The Junction (compilation), Aug 2000
- Big Squeeze: The Very Best Of Squeeze (compilation), Jun 2002
External links
[Official site (http://www.squeezefan.com/)]