SQUEEZE + BADLY DRAWN BOY – BRIGHTON CENTRE 2.11.24
Legend has it that what was once described as the best songwriting duo since Lennon and McCartney formed through a gentleman named Chris Difford posting an advertisement in a sweetshop window asking for a guitarist to join his new band (which was, at the time, nonexistent). The only person to respond to this was the then unknown Glenn Tilbrook. Following recruitments of Paul Gunn and Jools Holland, 1974 saw the official formation of the best band to be named after an atrocious album by The Velvet Underground (an album that has since been swept aside from their remaining releases), Squeeze.
Over the last fifty years, Difford and Tilbrook have crafted a wonderful discography of honest power pop, shifting over various forms and shapes from more post-punk oriented releases like 1979’s ‘Cool For Cats’ and 1980’s ‘Argybargy’, and sophisti-pop and new wave-focused albums like 1982’s ‘Sweets From A Stranger’ and 1987’s ‘Babylon And On’. On the 21st night of a 27-date tour across the UK, Squeeze found their home at the Brighton Centre on Saturday night for one of the rowdiest nights of this stature I’ve experienced in a while, especially considering how the majority of the audience were approaching 60/70s…!
Joining Squeeze on their tour is Damon Michael Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy. Chosen from a name from a character from the TV show ‘Sam and the Magic Bell’, Gough has been making some of the most bittersweet and honest songs in his iconic style of indie folk for the best part of 30 years, releasing a string of three EPs between September 1997 and November 1998 before reaching his best-selling and Mercury Prize-winning ‘The Hour Of Bewilderbeast’ album in 2000. Several records later, he continues to find himself writing and touring, celebrating his work alongside Squeeze for the entirety of their tour.
As the lights darken at 7:30pm, Damon greets the crowd with a quick “Hello”, before “suitably” opening the night with ‘This Is That New Song’, a cathartic folk song about a missing friend who soon died; naturally, Damon apologises for lowering the mood of the show before it’s even begun. ‘Stone On The Water’ from ‘The Hour Of Bewilderbeast’ shows off the smoother qualities in his voice, with his acoustic guitar painting the song with a slightly Western flair. The rustic and homely ‘Appleyard Boulevard’ was unfortunately plagued with chatter and disturbance from a group of people trying to get to their seats, while talking away as if they were the only people in the venue…!
The most remarkable thing about Badly Drawn Boy live, apart from his curmudgeonly humorous conversation on stage, was how he’s able to take his songs and create such vivid picturesque worlds with them. Take the song ‘Something To Talk About’, cemented in a world of 2000s indie films, or ‘A Minor Incident’, whose inclusion of a harmonica brings out the Bob Dylan influence so naturally, I feel like I’m strolling down the album cover to ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’. It’s wonderful to see just how beloved the music of Badly Drawn Boy continues to be, with an audience member to the left of the stage proclaiming “we love you, Damon!” to his gratitude.
Gough takes to the piano for the following two cuts, ‘Walkman Demo’ and ‘Silent Sigh’, the former of which being one of my favourites in the set thanks to a cavernous soundscape created by his vocal delay. The obvious nod to Bruce Springsteen on ‘Born In The U.K.’ is an amusing moment in the set, but the penultimate ‘You Were Right’ is a gorgeously romantic number, with its Beatles/Monkees-kissed soundplay and lovelorn lyrical content, particular in a verse where the protagonist dreams about Madonna taking a shine to him and turning her down because he’s “still in love with you”. Finally, the closing track ‘Once Around The Block’ is a double-edged sword for me – on the one hand, the dedication to the recent passing of Janey Godley and the iconicity of the song in general is wonderful to see, but the downside is, with it being the last song of the set, I didn’t get to see him play ‘The Shining’. That’s my favourite song of his. And he didn’t play it. How rude.
Badly Drawn Boy:
Damon Michael Gough – vocals, guitar, keys, harmonica
Badly Drawn Boy setlist:
‘This Is That New Song’
‘Stone On The Water’
‘This Song’
‘Appletree Boulevard’
‘Something To Talk About’
‘A Minor Incident’
‘Walkman Demo’
‘Silent Sigh’
‘Born In The U.K.’
‘You Were Right’
‘Once Around The Block’
Okay, I can’t be too mad at the lack of ‘The Shining’ in Badly Drawn Boy’s set, because Damon did leave myself and the crowd on a homely high as we patiently awaited the arrival of the Deptford duo of Difford and Tilbrook. 8:35pm and the crowd goes mental at the audible sound of the opening synthetic muzak beats that constitute the live cue for ‘Black Coffee In Bed’. In all power pop glory, the Squeeze boys, plus a backing band of six musicians engage in this song as the wake-up call to the set, with so many grouped vocals painting its backdrop. Glenn welcomes us to the show before heading swiftly into ‘Footprints’, the intro to which reminds me a little of Talking Heads’ ‘Once In A Lifetime’ with its synth textures and colourful percussion courtesy of Simon Hanson on drums and Steve Smith on percussion. An immediate transition into ‘Is That Love?’ occurs and the band grips onto fast-paced, booming bubblegum, prompting the audience to start letting their hair down, with strands of people standing up, dancing, breaking their imposed seating arrangements. Almost half the crowd are now on their feet for the new wave classic ‘Up The Junction’, with its idyllic, yet tragic lyrical storybook, before the wonderfully-arranged ‘One Beautiful Summer’, inspired by a story of a couple who fell in love with each other in a care home, sees them sit back down to regain their breath.
The disco-heavy ‘Someone Else’s Heart’ is the first song in the set sung by Chris, whose croaky vocals are unmistakably recognisable in whatever context it’s performed under. Following the capturing of those long-forgotten teenage golden years on ‘In Quintessence’ comes a song that was particularly interesting to me, the magnum opus on Squeeze’s most recent album ‘The Knowledge’, ‘Departure Lounge’. Highlighted by Glenn as his favourite track from that record, this song has a wonderfully wide arrangement of tinkling percussion, warm synth strings and an overall progressive rock-kissed atmosphere with sophisticated chord changes to boot – definitely one of the best songs in the set, just shows how talented these guys continue to be after fifty years in the game!
Another favourite of mine, ‘Some Fantastic Place’ reminds me of contemporary singer-songwriter Tim Arnold, particularly in its grand arrangements and riding harmonies that bookend the song. The crowd gets treated to a three-song streak from ‘Argybargy’, arguably their most beloved album, starting with ‘If I Didn’t Love You’, during which I found myself distracted, due to a third instance of a security guard telling a particular audience member to stay in their seat if the rest of the crowd are not doing so… cue Chris Difford telling people to stand up for ‘Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)’. This steady and momentous track is a great encapsulation of Squeeze to me, and the pure power of Difford and Tilbrook’s songwriting. This was easily the most raucously performed song of the set so far, with keys player Stephen Large looking more and more like a Thunderbird puppet in his arm movements with every passing note.
‘Another Nail In My Heart’ was an extremely uplifting point in the show, reminding me of a cross between early XTC and Sparks’ ‘No.1 Song In Heaven’ – synthetic disco fury. I have to say, it’s incredible how well-arranged the entire performances were, particularly on the song ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, evoking the feel of a 50s dance a la ‘Back To The Future’ or ‘Grease’. Two relatively more recent Squeeze songs, ‘You Get The Feeling’ and Tilbrook demo ‘Trixie’s Hell On Earth’, act as somewhat of a comedown, something needed after three energetic punches from ‘Argybargy’; the former instigates elaborate guitar picking patterns and gospel-like backing vocals while the latter sits in a strange circus atmosphere that’s quite peculiar for a Squeeze song, but remains totally invigorating. The country-shaded ‘Goodbye Girl’ sees the audience back on their feet with Stephen Large now on accordion and pedal steel guitarist Melvin Duffy engaging in an incredible solo, followed by some mandolin! Following the Elvis-evoking ‘Cradle To The Grave’, ‘Slap & Tickle’ is, by far, the most energetic and intense song of the entire set. Those synth lines?! Wow, this song feels completely out of its time and hearing Glenn’s voice rip through the instrumentation is fantastic!
‘Tempted’ sees the biggest singalong from the crowd all night, while ‘Cool For Cats’ enjoys the biggest round of cheers and applause within its walls of hyperactive power pop. The notable sleazy jam section of the song is an entertaining point in the set, but what enticed me most about this performance was how Chris Difford’s voice here has aged absolutely marvellously! A bittersweet and love-layered comedown to start bring the set to a close, ‘Labelled With Love’ features some of the best melodies to any Squeeze song, while ‘Hourglass’ is the perfect song to highlight Stephen Large’s keyboard skills; the man is a freak of nature that cannot be tamed, honestly.
And finally, Squeeze take us right back to their debut single to end the night, ‘Take Me I’m Yours’, a song that still sounds incredibly fresh after fifty years of release. Glenn and Chris introduce their backing band, all of whom participate in solos of their respective instruments, with the exception of vocalist and tambourine player Danica Dora who recites a verse of The Velvet Underground’s ‘After Hours’ beautifully, I might add! With no encore hidden under their sleeve, the lights come brighten up, the backing music permeates its way through the speakers and the patrons begin to dissipate. I must say, it’s incredible to witness a band like Squeeze, after all this time as a musical outfit, still exciting crowds to this day; with younger fans now cropping up into the mix, and the dream team duo of Difford and Tilbrook continuing to write new material, Squeeze remain to be one of the most blazingly-admired pop bands of all time.
Squeeze:
Glenn Tilbrook – vocals, lead guitar
Chris Difford – vocals, rhythm guitar
Simon Hanson – drummer, backing vocals
Stephen Large – keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Smith – percussion, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Melvin Duffy – pedal and lap steel guitars, mandolin, rhythm guitar backing vocals
Owen Biddle – bass, backing vocals
Danica Dora – tambourine, backing vocals
Squeeze setlist:
‘Black Coffee In Bed’ (from 1982 ‘Sweets From A Stranger’ album)
‘Footprints’ (from 1987 ‘Babylon And On’ album)
‘Is That Love?’ (from 1981 ‘East Side Story’ album)
‘Up The Junction’ (from 1979 ‘Cool For Cats’ album)
‘One Beautiful Summer’ (new unreleased song)
‘Someone Else’s Heart’ (from 1981 ‘East Side Story’ album)
‘In Quintessence’ (from 1981 ‘East Side Story’ album)
‘Departure Lounge’ (from 2017 ‘The Knowledge’ album)
‘Some Fantastic Place’ (from 1993 ‘Some Fantastic Place’ album)
‘If I Didn’t Love You’ (from 1980 ‘Argybargy’ album)
‘Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)’ (from 1980 ‘Argybargy’ album)
‘Another Nail In My Heart’ (from 1980 ‘Argybargy’ album)
‘Annie Get Your Gun’ (a 1982 single)
‘You Get The Feeling’ (new unreleased song)
‘Trixie’s Hell On Earth’ (Glenn Tilbrook song)
‘Goodbye Girl’ (from 1979 ‘Cool For Cats’ album)
‘Cradle To The Grave’ (from 2015 ‘Cradle To The Grave’ album)
‘Slap & Tickle’ (from 1979 ‘Cool For Cats’ album)
‘Tempted’ (from 1981 ‘East Side Story’ album)
‘Cool For Cats’ (from 1979 ‘Cool For Cats’ album)
‘Labelled With Love’ (from 1981 ‘East Side Story’ album)
‘Hourglass’ (from 1987 ‘Babylon And On’ album)
‘Take Me I’m Yours’ (from 1978 ‘Squeeze’ album)
