As one of the most traditional pop bands of the new wave, Squeeze provided one of the links between classic British guitar pop and post-punk. Inspired heavily by the Beatles and the Kinks, Squeeze were the vehicle for the songwriting of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, who were hailed as the heirs to Lennon and McCartney's throne during their heyday in the early '80s. Unlike Lennon and McCartney, the partnership between Difford and Tilbrook was a genuine collaboration, with the former writing the lyrics and the latter providing the music. Squeeze never came close to matching the popularity of the Beatles, but the reason for that is part of their charm. Difford and Tilbrook were wry, subtle songwriters that subscribed to traditional pop songwriting values, but subverted them with literate lyrics and clever musical references. While their native Britain warmed to Squeeze immediately, sending singles like "Take Me I'm Yours" and "Up the Junction" into the Top Ten, the band had a difficult time gaining a foothold in the States; they didn't have a U.S. Top 40 hit until 1987, nearly a decade after their debut album. Even if the group never had a hit in the U.S., Squeeze built a dedicated following that stayed with them into the late '90s, and many of their songs -- "Another Nail in My Heart," "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Tempted," "Black Coffee in Bed" -- became pop classics of the new wave era, as the platinum status of their compilation Singles 45's and Under indicates.
Chris Difford (b. April 11, 1954; guitar, vocals) and Glenn Tilbrook (b. August 31, 1957; vocals, guitar) formed Squeeze in 1974. Tilbrook answered an advertisement Difford had placed in a store window, and the pair began writing songs. By the spring of 1974, the duo had recruited pianist Jools Holland (b. Julian Holland, January 24, 1958) and drummer Paul Gunn, and had named themselves Squeeze, after the disowned Velvet Underground album that featured none of the group's original members. Squeeze began playing the thriving pub rock circuit, although their songs were quirkier and more pop-oriented than many of their peers. By 1976, the band had added bassist Harry Kakoulli and replaced Gunn with Gilson Lavis (b. June 27, 1951), a former tour manager and drummer for Chuck Berry. They had also signed a contract with Miles Copeland's burgeoning BTM record label and management company. Squeeze had already recorded several tracks for RCA, including two cuts with Muff Winwood, that the label rejected. BTM went bankrupt before it could release the band's debut single, "Take Me I'm Yours" in early 1977, but Squeeze were able to work with John Cale on their debut EP, due to a contract Copeland had arranged with Cale.
Squeeze released their debut EP, Packet of Three, on Deptford Fun City Records, in the summer of 1977 and soon arranged an international contract with A&M Records, becoming the label's first new wave act since their disastrous signing of the Sex Pistols. The band entered the studio with producer Cale later that year to work on their debut album, provisionally titled Gay Guys by the group's producer. Cale had the group throw out most of their standard material, forcing them to write new material; consequently, the record wasn't necessarily a good representation of the band's early sound. By the time the album was released in the spring of 1978, the group and A&M had abandoned the record's working title, and it was released as Squeeze. In America, the band and album had to change their name to UK Squeeze in order to avoid confusion with an American band called Tight Squeeze; by the end of the year, they had reverted back to Squeeze in the U.S.. Preceded by the hit single "Take Me I'm Yours," the album became a moderate success, but the group's true British breakthrough arrived in 1979, when they released their second album, Cool for Cats. More representative of the band's sound than their debut, Cool for Cats generated two number two singles in the title track and "Up the Junction." Later in 1978, the EP 6 Squeeze Songs Crammed Into One Ten-Inch Record EP was released. Squeeze tried for a seasonal hit that year with "Christmas Day," but the single failed to chart. Kakoulli was fired from the band after the release of Cool for Cats and was replaced by John Bentley.
Released in the spring of 1980, Argybargy received the strongest reviews of any Squeeze album to date, and produced moderate U.K. hits with "Another Nail in My Heart" and "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)." Both songs, plus "If I Didn't Love You," became hits on college radio and new wave clubs in America, increasing the band's profile considerably; it was the first Squeeze album to chart in America, reaching number 71. Jools Holland, whose fascination with boogie-woogie piano was beginning to sit uncomfortably with Difford and Tilbrook's increasingly sophisticated compositions, left the band in late 1980 to form the Millionaires; he was replaced by Paul Carrack, formerly of the pub rock band Ace. Following Argybargy, critics in both the U.K. and U.S. were calling Difford and Tilbrook "the new Lennon and McCartney," and in order to consolidate their growing reputation, Squeeze made an attempt at their own Sgt. Pepper's with 1981's East Side Story. Initially, the album was to be produced by Dave Edmunds, but the group scrapped those sessions to work with Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian. Upon its summer release, East Side Story was hailed with excellent reviews, but it didn't become a huge hit as expected. Nevertheless, it found an audience, peaking at number 19 in the U.K. and number 44 on the U.S. charts. The soulful, Carrack-sung "Tempted" failed to reach the U.K. Top 40, but it did become the group's first charting U.S. single, reaching the Top 50. The country-tinged "Labeled with Love" became the group's third, and last, British Top Ten hit that fall. Carrack left at the end of 1981 to join Carlene Carter's backing band; he was replaced with Don Snow, a classically trained pianist who formerly played with the Sinceros.
Ever since the release of their debut, Squeeze had been touring and recording without break, and signs of weariness were evident on Sweets from a Stranger. Though it was the group's highest-charting U.S. album, reaching number 32 shortly after its spring release, Sweets from a Stranger was uneven. In the U.K., it was a considerable disappointment, reaching number 37, with its single "Black Coffee in Bed" stalling at number 51. Nevertheless, the band had earned a considerable fan base, and were able to play Madison Square Garden that summer. Tired of touring and its frustrating commercial fortunes, Difford and Tilbrook decided to disband Squeeze late in 1982, releasing the compilation Singles 45's and Under, shortly after its announcement. Ironically, Singles peaked at number three on the British charts; it would later go platinum in the U.S.
Though they had disbanded Squeeze, Difford and Tilbrook had no intention of ending their collaboration -- they simply wanted to pursue other projects. In particular, they saw themselves as songwriters in the classic tradition of Tin Pan Alley or the Brill Building, and began writing for Helen Shapiro, Paul Young, Billy Bremner and Jools Holland. They also worked on Labelled with Love, a musical based on their songs, which played briefly in Deptford, England early in 1983. The duo released an eponymous album in the summer of 1984, showcasing a sophisticated new sound, as well as long, flowing haircuts and coats. The record was a moderate success, but the duo were already thinking of re-forming Squeeze. Early in 1985, the band reunited to play a charity gig, which prompted Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, and Lavis (who had been driving a cab) to permanently re-form, adding bassist Keith Wilkinson. Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti was released in the fall of 1985 to positive reviews and moderately successful sales. During 1986, Andy Metcalfe, a member of Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, joined the band as a second keyboardist. Babylon and On followed in the fall of 1987, and the album became a surprise hit, reaching number 14 in the U.K. and generating their biggest American hits -- "Hourglass," which reached number 15 on the strength of MTV's heavy rotation of the song's inventive video, and the Top 40 "853-5937." After completing an international tour, which featured another concert at Madison Square Garden and a headlining spot at the Reading Festival, Metcalfe left the band, and he was not replaced.
Babylon and On may have been a hit, but Squeeze's renewed success wasn't long-lasting. The group's next album, Frank, was released in the fall of 1989 and it wasn't given much a promotional push by A&M. Consequently, it flopped in both the U.S. and the U.K. During the supporting tour for Frank, A&M dropped Squeeze, leaving the band in the cold. Following the tour, Holland left the band to concentrate on his career as a recording artist, as well as a television host for the BBC. Squeeze released a live album, A Round & a Bout, on IRS Records in the spring of 1990. Early in 1991, the band signed with Reprise Records and began recording a new album, hiring Steve Nieve, Bruce Hornsby and Matt Irving as session keyboardists. The resulting album, Play, was released in the fall of 1991 to little attention, partially because it received no support from the label. During the Play tour, the band hired Don Snow and Carol Isaacs as keyboardists. Over the course of 1992, Difford and Tilbrook began to play the occasional acoustic concert, as Squeeze revamped its touring lineup again, hiring Steve Nieve as their touring keyboardist. Longtime drummer Gilson Lavis left the band later that year to play in Jools Holland's big band; he was replaced by Pete Thomas who, like Nieve, was a member of the Attractions.
Squeeze resigned from A&M Records in early 1993 and recorded their new album, Some Fantastic Place, with Thomas on drums and Paul Carrack on keyboards. Released in the September of 1993, the album became a moderate British hit, debuting at number 26; it was ignored in the U.S.. During 1994, Thomas left the band to join the reunited Attractions; by the end of the year, the group had replaced him with Andy Newmark. Prior to the recording of 1995's Ridiculous, Kevin Wilkinson -- no relation to bassist Keith Wilkinson -- became the group's drummer. Released in the U.K. in the fall of 1995, Ridiculous became a moderate hit, generating the hits "This Summer" and "Electric Trains." The album was released in America in the spring of 1996 on IRS. Under the name John Savannah, Don Snow contributed keyboards on Ridiculous and the album's supporting tour.
During 1996, Squeeze released two compilations, the single-disc Piccadilly Collection in the U.S. and the double-disc Excess Moderation in the U.K.. The following year, A&M U.K. issued the box set Six of One..., which contained remastered versions of their first six albums, plus two bonus tracks on each disc. A second box, covering the second six albums, was scheduled for release in 1998, but it was canceled after the label folded. By that time, Squeeze had finished their contractual obligation for new studio albums with the label. They signed with independent Quixotic Records, releasing a new album, Domino, in November of 1998. Domino was recorded with a new lineup, featuring Difford and Tilbrook, plus Jools Holland's brother Chris Holland on keyboards, bassist Hilaire Penda, and drummer Ashley Soan, a former member of Del Amitri. Following the supporting tour, Squeeze went their separate ways again at the close of 1999.
Difford and Tilbrook pursued solo projects during the course of the 2000s, contributing to some Squeeze-related projects -- notably the excellent 2004 book by Jim Drury, Squeeze: Song by Song -- but they didn't reunite the band, not even when they were goaded by VH1's Band Reunited program in 2004. Squeeze started to lurch back into activity in 2007, as Universal reissued a deluxe edition of Argybargy and a new hits collection; Difford and Tilbrook formed a new version of the band, largely relying on players from Glenn's Fluffers, for a U.S. tour later captured on the live album 5 Live: On Tour in America. From that point on Squeeze toured fairly regularly, with the band announcing in 2010 that Difford and Tilbrook were working on new songs, but before that album was released came Spot the Difference, a 2010 record where the band re-recorded many of its biggest hits.
Over the next five years, Difford and Tilbrook worked steadily on new songs while touring with a lineup consisting of John Bentley, Stephen Large, and Simon Hanson; Bentley was swapped out for Lucy Shaw in 2015. Squeeze finally unveiled their new studio album, Cradle to the Grave -- their first album in 17 years -- in the autumn of 2015. After its release, Shaw left the band and was replaced by Yolanda Charles; Steve Smith, formerly of Dirty Vegas, also joined the group as a percussionist. This lineup debuted on The Knowledge, which appeared in October 2017.
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Maidstone
Squeeze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Supermarket lights burn in the darkness
The chilly winter nights bring the scarves from the drawer
A crowd starts to gather on paving stone squares
Teeth start to chatter as the staff leave the store
And daughters meet mothers and fathers meet sons
It's too dark to walk home without anyone
The shopping precinct's closed, it's like a graveyard
I cycle to the pub where I meet with my friends
And I know that it's love as she pours me my pint
And strangers meet strangers and friends share their lives
I look at her again and feel butterflies
I pull the pillow to my side
And I imagine it is her
As I slip into the night,
I know what I prefer
But I hope and I pray that one day she will say
That's it's true
I can't live without loving you
Now there's no one around I push the bike home
The rain's a lovely sound as it runs down the path
There's our lights in the road, they amber the night
And there's nobody home, so I soak in the bath
And bubbles meet bubbles as they become one
I think about the world and what I have done
I pull the pillow to my side etc
Supermarket lights burn in the darkness (repeat to fade)
Squeeze's song "Maidstone" is a vivid portrayal of a winter's night in a small town. The song's lyrics are impressionistic; they describe the sights and sounds of the town as the singer navigates his way through the deserted streets. The opening lines set the scene: "Supermarket lights burn in the darkness/The chilly winter nights bring the scarves from the drawer." The singer is walking through the town center, where the shops have closed for the night and the only light comes from the streetlights and shop signs.
As he walks, he observes the interactions of the few people still out and about. "Daughters meet mothers and fathers meet sons/It's too dark to walk home without anyone." The singer himself is headed to a pub to meet his friends. He feels a sense of belonging and contentment as he sits with them, drinking his pint. "And I know that it's love as she pours me my pint/And strangers meet strangers and friends share their lives."
As the night wears on, the singer returns home alone, taking comfort in the familiar sights and sounds of his house. He reflects on his life and hopes for a future with the woman he loves. "And I imagine it is her/As I slip into the night/I know what I prefer/But I hope and I pray that one day she will say/That's it's true/I can't live without loving you." The song ends with a repeated image of the supermarket lights burning in the darkness, suggesting that life and love continue to burn on in the midst of the mundane.
Line by Line Meaning
Deciphering the song we have yet to see.
The meaning of the song is not yet clear and is yet to be understood.
Supermarket lights burn in the darkness
The lights of the supermarket shine bright in the darkness of the night.
The chilly winter nights bring the scarves from the drawer
During the cold winter nights, people take out their scarves and wrap themselves to keep warm.
A crowd starts to gather on paving stone squares
People come together on the paved streets and gather in groups.
Teeth start to chatter as the staff leave the store
The cold weather causes people's teeth to chatter as the staff leaves the store.
And daughters meet mothers and fathers meet sons
Families reunite as daughters meet mothers and fathers meet sons.
It's too dark to walk home without anyone
Since it's dark outside, it's unsafe to walk home alone.
The shopping precinct's closed, it's like a graveyard
The shopping area is closed and deserted, like a graveyard.
The chain falls through the spokes as I unlock my bike
The chain falls as the person unlocks their bike.
I cycle to the pub where I meet with my friends
The person cycles to a nearby pub to meet their friends.
And I know that it's love as she pours me my pint
The person feels loved as the bartender pours them a drink.
And strangers meet strangers and friends share their lives
People who were strangers before meet each other and become friends, sharing their experiences and lives.
I look at her again and feel butterflies
The person looks at the bartender and feels butterflies in their stomach.
I pull the pillow to my side
The person pulls the pillow beside them.
And I imagine it is her
The person imagines that the pillow is the bartender.
As I slip into the night, I know what I prefer
The person slips into the night with a clear idea of what they prefer.
But I hope and I pray that one day she will say
The person hopes and prays that one day the bartender will admit to having feelings for them.
That's it's true
The person hopes that the bartender's declaration is true.
I can't live without loving you
The person cannot live without the bartender's love.
Now there's no one around I push the bike home
Since there's no one around, the person starts pushing their bike home.
The rain's a lovely sound as it runs down the path
The sound of the rain running down the path is beautiful to the person.
There's our lights in the road, they amber the night
The person sees the lights of their house down the street, giving the night an amber hue.
And there's nobody home, so I soak in the bath
Since the house is empty, the person decides to take a bath.
And bubbles meet bubbles as they become one
Bubbles in the bath mix and become one.
I think about the world and what I have done
The person reflects on their actions and the state of the world.
Supermarket lights burn in the darkness (repeat to fade)
The supermarket lights continue to burn in the darkness as the song ends.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHRIS DIFFORD, GLENN TILBROOK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Richard Sohanchyk
Brilliant. One of the best songs Squeeze ever did. Why this hasn't seen the light of day in the US astounds me.
David Cook
You'll find it on their 1996 compilation cd "Excess Moderation" (assuming you can get that in the U.S.).
kdisley
I spent the first 21 years of my life living in Maidstone, and listening to this song to this day I can still visualise every line as being somewhere in that town. I was actually a little deflated when I found that Chris Difford didn't write it about Maidstone at all - apparently he had relatives that lived there at the time, and he just used the town's name as a title because it sounded as good as anywhere else!
If you want to see some amazing guitar, watch Glenn perform this song solo on the 12-string acoustic - he manages to play the mandolin part and the chords at the same time on the alternating strings!
Mark Roberts
Chris Difford had never been to Clapham when he wrote Up the Junction.
Jon Harris
I asked Glenn and Chris their favorite b side and they said it was this one. I did ask them to play and he couldn't remember the chords, but it definitely should have been on the album!
Tal LeMel
So brilliant! I love the mandolin. Thanks for adding the lyrics. Chris Difford's genius lyrics are the only lyrics that would be deserving of Glenn Tilbrook's unbelievably genius gift of melody, song writing and his gift for arrangement. Not to mention his gifts for being one of the best guitarists ever and that voice... after all of these years his voice still gives me shivers and transports me. How can one person have four, (I didn't miscount, arrangement in no easy feat), such powerful gifts?!!!
Privy Sorrow
Amen Amen.
blackcougar1959
Amen
Les Winterburn
Always been one of my favourites-hey they can sing,clever lyrics. Not like today's crap!
blackcougar1959
Beautifully crafted song.