FEATURE:
The Digital Mixtape
Freshly Squeezed: The Legendary Chris Difford at Seventy
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THIS outing of The Digital Mixtape…
IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Difford with Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze
features the wonderful Chris Difford. Primarily known as the lyricist/guitarist of Squeeze, Difford turns seventy on 4th November. I want to end this feature with a playlist of the best Squeeze songs and some deeper cuts. Some solo work too. You can find Chris Difford’s official website here. Before I get to that playlist, this article provides some biography about one of the finest – and also underrated – writers of his generation. Responsible for so many classic songs:
“Lyricist/guitarist Chris Difford teamed with singer/composer Glenn Tilbrook to lead Squeeze, one of the most acclaimed and longest-lived bands to emerge from the new wave era. Often regarded as the Lennon and McCartney of their generation, the duo's smart, sophisticated brand of pop never achieved commercial success commensurate with their critical favor, although singles like "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," "Tempted," and "Black Coffee in Bed" remain timeless cult classics.
Born November 4, 1954, in London, Difford began writing and performing with Tilbrook in 1973, and the following year they formed Squeeze; the group's self-titled John Cale-produced debut LP followed in 1978, yielding the minor hit "Take Me, I'm Yours." Released in 1979, Cool for Cats was Squeeze's U.K. chart breakthrough, generating a pair of number two singles, "Up the Junction" and the title track. The follow-up, Argybargy, yielded the lesser hits "Another Nail in My Heart" and "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," but solidified the group's critical standing on the strength of Difford's wry, literate wordplay and Tilbrook's crisp, clever melodies.
Squeeze's masterpiece, East Side Story, followed in 1981, scoring the band's biggest U.S. hit to date with the memorable "Tempted"; though 1982's Sweets from a Stranger cracked the U.S. Top 40, buoyed by the single "Black Coffee in Bed," creative exhaustion forced the band's breakup soon after. A 1983 hits collection, Singles 45's and Under, ultimately went platinum. After writing the Imperial Bedroom track "Boy with a Problem" with Elvis Costello, Difford resumed his collaboration with Tilbrook, composing songs for fellow Squeeze alum Jools Holland, as well as Paul Young, Billy Bremner, and Helen Shapiro. The duo also mounted Labeled with Love, a short-lived 1983 stage musical adapted from their songs.
A self-titled 1984 album credited simply to Difford and Tilbrook also appeared, but the following year they reunited Squeeze to release Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti. 1987's Babylon and On was their biggest U.S. hit, notching a pair of Top 40 singles in "Hourglass" and "853-5937," but subsequent efforts appealed almost exclusively to their devoted cult following. Difford went on hiatus from the group in 1999. He launched his solo career in 2003 with the album I Didn't Get Where I Am, which featured production and some songwriting help from Francis Dunnery. Capturing Difford live and playing classic Squeeze material, the CD/DVD combo South East Side Story appeared in 2006, followed by the cleverly titled The Last Temptation of Chris in 2008. Although a reunited Squeeze continued to be a going concern -- early in 2010, Difford announced that he and Tilbrook were writing new songs for the group -- Difford didn’t abandon his solo career: he released his third solo album, Cashmere if You Can, in the summer of 2011. The long-awaited Squeeze reunion album, Cradle to the Grave, finally materialized in 2015 and the group toured in support of it. In 2017, Difford's solo albums were boxed as the Chris to the Mill set, which also included a disc of demos. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi”.
I want to also highlight the biography from Chris Difford’s official website. It adds some more texture and details to the one that is sourced above. If you have never heard of Chris Difford, I would urge people to listen to Squeeze and Difford’s solo work. Such a remarkable and accomplished songwriter:
“Chris Difford is a Grammy nominated and double Ivor Novello Award winning lyricist who has brought us characters and sketches from everyday life, and has successfully turned the mundane into the beautiful, the urbane into the exquisite, for over 40 years.
Chris has co-written some of the most enduring and best-loved songs of our time such as ‘Up The Junction’, ‘Cool For Cats’ and ‘Labelled With Love’, ‘Tempted’ and many others. Squeeze returned with two new albums in recent years ‘Cradle to the Grave’ in 2015 and ‘The Knowledge’ in 2017, followed by extensive world-wide touring supporting Hall and Oates in the US and Madness in the UK. The Squeeze tour Food for Thought in 2022 virtually sold out and raised over £30,000 for various food banks. The band has never sounded better.
Chris hosts songwriting retreats and has done so for over 30 years, some in Prisons, some in Rehabs, but mostly in Somerset with the Buddy Holly Foundation and The Cutting Edge Group at Pennard House Somerset. He is one of the country’s most respected songwriters and has co-written with a host of musicians and performers that reads like a veritable who’s who of the music industry
His autobiography ‘Some Fantastic Place’ was released in 2017 and found some wonderful praise in the UK press and with fans around the World who recognised his journey into recovery while touring with his friends in Squeeze. The book continues to be part of his solo touring and became the focus of his sell out two week run at the Edinburgh Festival. A stand up show with a bit of sit down. Chris returns to Edinburgh this year in 2023 with a brand new stand up show.
In 2023 Squeeze are writing new songs and have completed a successful tour of the USA with the Psychedelic Furs. Meanwhile Chris is somehow finding the time to still run his beloved songwriting workshops for the charity Help Musician’s as well as recording series 3 of his highly acclaimed Podcast ‘I never thought it would happen’. Chris is an ambassador for Help Musicians and Music Minds Mater, two charities close to his heart.
A Patreon is being launched in 2024 with lots of lovely surprises, including Podcasts you will not find anywhere else and news of online solo shows and workshops. It’s all happening”.
On 4th November, the legendary Chris Difford turns seventy. I hope it provides opportunity for radio stations to play some of his hits. The man responsible for lyrics that verge on poetry. He definitely has this way with words that few other songwriters possess. To highlight and celebrate that, below is a Digital Mixtape containing some prime cuts. Not only a great songwriter in his own right, Chris Difford is…
ONE of the greatest ever.