Review: Squeeze's 50th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican

Words and photos by Dave Lawrence

WHAT is there not to love about Squeeze? Chris Difford’s catchy, poignant lyrics paired with Glenn Tilbrook’s gift for marrying melody have been a gift from the Gods since Tilbrook answered the advertisement Difford placed in a tobacconist’s window searching for a guitarist in 1973.

We Brits have had some great songwriting partnerships – Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Morrissey and Marr to name a few – and Difford and Tilbrook are up there with the very best.

Since the mid-Seventies Squeeze have toured regularly but on each occasion I’ve seen them they have always been great value. But they are not just a travelling jukebox of hits. They take pleasure in delving into their back catalogue to offer up some of their more obscure songs which is what they did at the Barbican.

On this 50th anniversary tour the band opened with Black Coffee in Bed and following up with Footprints and Is That Love before giving us a singalong opportunity with the classic Up The Junction. Not a shabby start by anyone’s standards.

Chris Difford of Squeeze at the Barbican. Photo by Dave Lawrence

They then wheeled out a new number called One Beautiful Summer, a touching song about a couple of pensioners finding love in their care home. It may as well have carried a trademark it was such quintessential Squeeze.

Classic tunes including Another Nail in My Heart, Annie Get Your Gun, Goodbye Girl, Tempted, Hourglass and Labelled with Love continued to tumble out of the band effortlessly all evening.

The familiarity of many of these songs meant that they were often supplemented by enthusiastic vocal accompaniment from the audience and although folks may not have been out of their seats all night long, songs like Cool For Cats and Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) prompted sporadic displays of dad dancing around the sold out venue.

Their wonderful tribute to an old friend, and the title track from their 1993 album, Some Fantastic Place, was as emotional as always. Departure Lounge and Cradle To The Grave were more recent songs and held their own against the older classics.

Glenn Tilbrook at the Barbican. Photo by Dave Lawrence

This latest version of Squeeze is quite a muscular one – there are eight band members, including livewire drummer Simon Hanson and keyboardist Stephen Large - who provided an energetic display of accordion playing during Goodbye Girl - who have both been band members since 2007.

On the final number, an extended, almost ten minute version of Take Me I’m Yours, each band member was given a short solo spot to shine which was a nice touch.

The band’s lengthy tour has still to see them play in Hull, Halifax and Stockton this November.

Support was provided by Badly Drawn Boy (Damian Gough) who delivered a laid back set switching between acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards that began with This Is That New Song and included Stone On The Water, Silent Sigh, A Minor Incident and Tony Wilson Said.