When Squeeze’s songwriting engine, powered by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, spluttered to a halt in 1999 after an eventful 25-year journey, there was never any question what the former would do. He jumped on to his solo vehicle with gusto, driving into the distance, relishing his new-found freedom.
Over the past nine years Glenn has toured the world constantly, wowing audiences with his down-to-earth, impassioned style. A night watching Glenn performing alone is not like watching any other British solo artist. You see, no-one else involves his audience in the way that Glenn does. Welcoming his crowd with his customary greeting of “Alright, loves?” Glenn establishes an immediate rapport with every audience he encounters, from Tokyo to Texas.
Playing in intimate venues allows Glenn to indulge in one of his favourite musical pastimes – blurring the role of performer and fan. During his shows Glenn will often leap into the crowd and take on the role of modern day Pied Piper. As Glenn becomes part of his own audience, the paying customer joins in the act, taking on the guise of designated backing vocalist. Leading his audience on a tour of the venue Glenn will, on occasion, guide them onto the street outside, much to the bemusement of passing locals. He’s even been known to walk his audience into the gents’ toilets, much to the shock of the ‘movers and shakers’ pointing Percy at the porcelain.
Glenn’s walkabouts are quite a sight to behold, often worth the entrance fee alone. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Amy Pickard’s lauded documentary ‘One for the Road’, which follows Glenn round the US in his not entirely reliable Winnebago. In one clip Glenn walks his devotees to a fan’s house, strumming and singing as he goes, before setting up a gig in the living room. The looks of astonishment on the faces of those in Glenn’s portable audience say it all.
Glenn’s solo performances contain a mixture of Squeeze numbers and tracks from his highly-acclaimed solo albums, 2001’s ‘The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook’ and ‘Transatlantic Ping Pong’, released in 2004.
So, if you ever dreamed of being a member of your own band, do your vocal exercises, get along to one of Glenn’s solo shows, and join his Lonely Hearts Club Band for the night. You’ll make The Polyphonic Spree look a bunch of amateurs.
GLENN AND THE FLUFFERS
In 2003 Glenn announced that he was going to work with a bunch of Fluffers. No doubt this caused some confusion among the tunesmith’s legion of devotees. But anyone fearing that their hero had entered the porn business, in some bizarre form of mid-life crisis, was quickly availed of their worries. Fortunately The Fluffers in question were not expected to arouse male appendages on camera. No, the only instruments these plucky folk would be required to caress were the keyboards, bass, and drums. Phew!
Enter a trio of exciting young musicians who would form the exciting combo who have grown in the clutches of Mr T’s warm bosom over the past five years, taking his solo material into a new dimension.
On keyboards is ‘ennobled’ Northern Soul-loving Stephen ‘Lord’ Large. His Lordship had spent his formative years in the Electric Soft Parade, before leaving in 2002 for pastures new. Offstage Lord Large is mild-mannered, witty, and self-effacing. On stage the man is transformed into a rock monster, a showman who riffs off his fellow Fluffers, and is allowed generous room by Glenn to show off his vast array of skills to stunned audiences. The man takes little encouragement at a show’s finale to jump on top of his keyboards and play them with his buttocks. I wonder if his insurance company knows about that.
On bass since 2004 is the sultry, classically-trained Lucy Shaw. Having played with an extraordinarily varied array of talent over the years, from Luciano Pavarotti through Katie Melua to Paul McCartney, Lucy adds panache to what has become a rhythm section as tight as a gnat’s chaff.
Her partner in crime is former Death in Vegas and Dogs D’Amour drummer Simon Hanson. Simon is not quite as sultry, much as he tries. But his high-energy work behind the sticks helps knit together the band’s melodic, punchy sound. Simon’s confident, ballsy drumming makes Simon a 21st Century Gilson Lavis – although his bricklaying skills aren’t quite as good.
From the Keith Moon School of Drumming, Simon’s high-energy instrumentation is worth a close look, when you can take your eyes away from the three livewires frontstage. He’s also a walking joke book and fine off-stage comedian. Just don’t get too near his lethal shirt cuffs if you bump into him after a show, or he might have one of your eyes out. The daft sod.
In 2008 Glenn and The Fluffers released their first single ‘Binga Bong’, a smooth, assured debut track, ahead of 2009’s long-awaited album ‘Pandemonium Ensues’. Be prepared to be blown away by the best Fluffers in town!
GLENN AND SQUEEZE
Whoever thought it would happen? No, I'm not talking about a quick fumble under the sheets “with me and the girl from Clapham”, but the return of Deptford's favourite sons, Messrs Difford and Tilbrook.
As quintessentially British as roast beef, warm beer, and cricket, Squeeze are lodged in the consciousness of the discerning pop listener, earning themselves a reputation as one of Britain's best-loved bands. Their songs are a unique blend of ‘kitchen sink’ lyrics and intricate, uplifting melodies, their impressive back catalogue of 12 albums encompassing a wide variety of styles. This has helped to ensure that Squeeze's live performances are rarely less than thrilling.
Despite the happy marriage of music and lyrics, life in Squeeze hasn't always been harmonic, and it was little surprise when Glenn and Chris called it a day in 1999. It wasn't the first time the band had split (they first called it a day back in 1982), but the acrimony surrounding the second break-up made their departure from the scene as the last Millennium closed appear more of a divorce than a separation.
Although the presence of genius pianist Jools Holland in the band's original line-up gave Squeeze an undeniable dose of on-stage charisma, it was the writing partnership of Difford and Tilbrook which was at the heart of their success. Hits such as Cool for Cats, Up The Junction, and Labelled with Love gave Squeeze a huge following and led to the Difford-Tilbrook partnership being dubbed 'The New Lennon and McCartney' by journalists. For a quarter of a century the pair enjoyed a working relationship that was almost telepathic in its nature. Chris would write the lyrics whilst Glenn composed the music, even though such a neat division of labour was never a conscious decision.
The pair undertook a painstaking rebuilding of their personal relationship, starting with their separate contributions to the biography Squeeze: Song By Song. Yet it was still a surprise to most fans when news broke of a reunion tour in 2007.
Joining Chris and Glenn in the fifteenth incarnation of Squeeze – and arguably one of its best – are John Bentley, the band’s energetic heartthrob bassist from 1978 until 1982, and two of Glenn's long-time collaborators - Stephen 'Lord' Large on keyboards, and Simon Hanson on drums.
Jim Drury
