Squeeze songwriter Glenn Tilbrook is going back to the band's first end for his final entry in a series of demo releases.
Tilbrook, the man behind the voice, guitar and music of England's most underrated rock band, began a five-part clearing of the vaults almost 10 years ago, when Squeeze, the band he formed with lyricist/vocalist Chris Difford in the 1970s, began their third distinct iteration as a band. As Difford, Tilbrook, bassist John Bentley (with the group from 1980 to 1982) and Tilbrook's solo keyboardist Stephen Large and drummer Simon Hansen went back on the road to excited crowds playing their most famous singles, Tilbrook's Quixotic label released The Past Has Been Bottled, a compilation devoted to demos from 1981's East Side Story, one of their most notable albums for tracks like "Tempted," "Is That Love" and "Labelled with Love."
A year later, In the Sky Above collected demos from 1993's Some Fantastic Place to 1998's Domino, at the time the final album Squeeze had recorded. A year after that, Dreams Are Made of This traced the band's roots from 1974 to the release of Argybargy in 1980; fourth volume When Daylight Appears traces a portion of the band's first reunion from 1985 to 1991, and came out belatedly in 2011.
Now, a year after Squeeze released a new album, Cradle to the Grave (featuring a host of new tracks written for a BBC sitcom based on the life of writer Danny Baker) and as Tilbrook closes 2016 with a short solo tour, Upon the Rocks closes the demo series with a look at what was nearly the end of the band.
1982 saw the group follow up East Side Story (and the immeasurable weight of being deemed "the new Lennon and McCartney" in the music press) with Sweets from a Stranger, a moody, unusual album that yielded the U.S. Mainstream Rock hit "Black Coffee in Bed." The band split up that same year, releasing the compilation Singles 45's & Under in the fall (likely the one Squeeze set you and yours own, even if you're not a super fan). But Difford and Tilbrook--the nucleus of the band and the only truly consistent members--kept working together, cutting a self-titled duo record in 1984. Produced by Tony Visconti and featuring a backing band that featured Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher and bassist Keith Wilkinson (who would serve with Squeeze from their 1985 reunion to 1995), Difford & Tilbrook is as Squeeze-like as they come, despite the captivating oddball production. A year later, they were back together.
Upon the Rocks, reportedly available at Tilbrook's U.K. shows and listed on Amazon U.K. with a December 2 release date, features 21 demos from both Sweets from a Stranger and Difford & Tilbrook. View the full track list and place your order below!
Glenn Tilbrook, Upon the Rocks: The Demo Tapes 1981-1984 (Quixotic, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
- I've Returned
- Out of Touch (Version 1)
- Out of Touch (Version 2)
- Points of View
- Spanish Guitar
- I Can't Hold On
- Black Coffee in Bed
- I'm At Home Tonight
- Elephant Girl
- Annie Get Your Gun
- Heart Forever Sold
- The Very First Dance (Version 2)
- When the Hangover Strikes
- Action Speaks Faster
- On My Mind Tonight
- Hope Fell Down
- Make the Break
- Within These Walls of Without You
- Selling Out
- A Strange Taste
- Love's Crashing Waves
Magnus Hägermyr says
The Squeeze had the nerv to challenge Leonard Bernstein by making "EAST Side Story" and doing a great jobb of it too. A pop-masterpiece if you ask me. Thanks for the tip-offs of all these Squeeze demo albums that I wasn't aware of.
Robert says
Been so long since the last one I'd even forgotten the series was unfinished.