• About
    • Ethics policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Ownership, funding and corrections
    • Complaints procedure
    • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Newsletter
Brighton and Hove News
19 June, 2025
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Opinion
    • Community
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Food and Drink
  • Sport
    • Brighton and Hove Albion
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Opinion
    • Community
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Food and Drink
  • Sport
    • Brighton and Hove Albion
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
Brighton and Hove News
No Result
View All Result
Home Arts and Culture

The music of Squeeze is the food of love

by Rachel Griffin
Sunday 27 Nov, 2022 at 4:10PM
A A
2
The music of Squeeze is the food of love
Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

SQUEEZE + JOHN COOPER CLARKE – BRIGHTON CENTRE 26.11.22

It was a windy, wet Saturday evening in November and a jovial audience of Squeeze fans of a certain age gradually filled up the Brighton Centre. On arrival we were treated to a fine tribute to the recently deceased Wilko Johnson as many of his and Dr Feelgood’s hits blasted out across the auditorium.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

In 1973 two south London teenagers from Deptford, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, named their band after a Velvet Underground album, and John Cale, after hearing this, produced their debut EP ‘Packet Of Three’ and most of their following albums.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The early line up included Jools Holland on keys, Harry Kakouli on bass and Paul Gunn on drums. Squeeze’s excellent line up and musicianship was, and remains, only matched by the pure poetry of their lyrics, Ian Dury & The Blockheads being the only other London band who created such poetry around the same time (not including The Beatles, although, along with The Kinks, they were obviously influences on Tilbrook and Difford).

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The band’s second album ‘Cool For Cats’, released in 1979, cemented their place as one of Britain’s most important young bands and featured the classic single ‘Up The Junction’. The band broke up in 1982, reforming in 1985 and has had its ups and downs since, with many changes in personnel over the decades. The issue of the album ‘Spot The Difference’ in 2010 marked a new era for the band after a gap of 12 years since the previous Squeeze album.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Squeeze’s songs have often highlighted social concerns, whether covering teenage pregnancy in ‘Up The Junction’ or getting old in ‘Labelled With Love’; their current UK Tour is called ‘Food For Thought’ which continues this trend with support for The Trussell Trust. As we arrived at the venue many contributed to the call for food and donations. The Trust’s aim is to help to raise food, funds and awareness of the 1,200 food bank centres across the UK and also campaign for change to end the need for them. The lyrics in ‘Food For Thought’ Squeeze’s latest EP reflects their political views and dissatisfaction with the status quo:
“Cosy contracts for their mates; Cutting help right to the bone; Empty stomachs freezing homes”.

Find out how much food was donated and how much cash was raised tonight by reading our update article HERE. 

The Trussell Trust Food Bank donations at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The band took to the stage quickly and launched straight into ‘Take Me I’m Yours’, which was an offer the enthusiastic audience could not refuse, swiftly followed by ‘Hourglass’ from the album ‘Babylon And On’, one of many songs which displayed Tilbrook’s distinctive vocals and guitar.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Their large cannon of work gave the band a rich seam from which to cherry pick this tour’s setlist, and sure-fire favourites were cleverly interspersed with less well-known tracks from various albums over the decades. ‘Up The Junction’, a memorable crowd pleaser was the first number to cause rippling excitement across the audience of discerning fans, the bright blue screens of numerous mobile phones could be seen recording the song through the darkness.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

There was little chat between songs as Difford and Tilbrook let the music provide the banter, cruising through numbers which included such hits as ‘From The Cradle To The Grave’, ‘Labelled With Love’, and ‘Pulling Mussels From The Shell’. Halfway through the set the band played ‘Food For Thought’, their latest track and providing this tour’s title, which already has the reassuring sound of a much-loved Squeeze song and fulfilled the promise of its title.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

My personal favourites of the evening were ‘Electric Trains’ and ‘Cool For Cats’. The band’s current favourite to play, Difford told us, was ‘Letting Go’, from their 1991 album ‘Play’, a song about the end of a relationship, penned with their trademark incisive honesty. Difford and Tilbrook, now in their sixties had lost none of their sharpness and musical skills, and Tilbrook’s vocals and guitar playing were as fresh as ever. The only negative of this joyous gig was that the sound could have been better balanced, Tilbrook’s vocals were sadly sometimes overpowered by the sound of the rest of the band.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The tight and extremely professional band were all very smartly attired in whistles of varying styles and were obviously playing with enthusiasm and gusto, nobody more so than Stephen Large, who, sporting a white suit, strutted and frolicked flamboyantly at his keyboards with increasing energy. At this point I must give a shout out to the great Melvin Duffy, not only a local Hove resident and excellent pedal steel guitar player, but also a member of, amongst others, another brilliant live band, Los Pacaminos. (A previous keyboard player with Squeeze, the late Matt Irving, was a formative member and Difford has also, incidentally, been an honorary member of the band).

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Returning to Squeeze, and ‘Goodbye Girl’ got everyone up dancing and the set finished on ‘Cool For Cats’, with ‘Slap & Tickle’ and ‘Black Coffee In Bed’ providing the encore and allowing all the band to showcase their skills with individual solos.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The whole concert had been a great celebration of Difford and Tilbrook’s 50 years of songwriting, terrific lyrics and perfect catchy tunes, it was all we hoped for and more… definitely food for thought. The audience filed out happily with continued huge affection for Squeeze and their sharp, society-reflecting songbook.

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Squeeze:
Chris Difford – vocals, rhythm guitar
Glenn Tilbrook – vocals, lead 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
Sean Hurley – bass

Squeeze at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Squeeze setlist:
‘Take Me I’m Yours’
‘Hourglass’
‘Up The Junction’
‘What Have They Done?’
‘From The Cradle To The Grave’
‘I Think I’m Go Go’
‘F-Hole’
‘Labelled With Love’
‘Food For Thought’
‘Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)’
‘Is That Love?’
‘Letting Go’
‘Annie Get Your Gun’
‘No Place Like Home’
‘Someone Else’s Heart’
‘Electric Trains’
‘The Very First Dance’
‘Goodbye Girl’
‘Another Nail In My Heart’
‘Tempted’
‘Cool For Cats’
(encore)
‘Slap & Tickle’
‘Black Coffee In Bed’

www.squeezeofficial.com

John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Support this evening came from Dr John Cooper Clarke who is a poet, TV and radio presenter and cultural commentator, a major cultural influence for over four decades, described by Sir Paul McCartney as “One of Britain’s outstanding poets” and is known as the ‘people’s poet’. I can’t help but agree with Sir Paul, I own a copy of ‘The Luckiest Guy Alive” and enjoy dipping into it. Born in Salford and sometimes also referred to as ‘The Bard Of Salford’ he is now living in Colchester.

John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

Cooper Clarke’s career and life is as colourful and varied as his poetry and as individual as his punky, ageing rock star style, he has supported many musicians on tour over the decades, including the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Elvis Costello; he has also made many appearances on television and in documentaries, most notably the hilarious ‘Evidently… John Cooper Clarke’, produced by his own production company; he has also produced acclaimed albums and written his autobiography ‘I Wanna Be Yours’.

John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

I wondered how the audience would react to a poet reading his poems to them in rapid succession, but never underestimate the public… or in this case, fans of Squeeze. This wordsmith was an ideal pairing for the lyrically rich Squeeze, and he speedily read a variety of his poems interspersed with some very old jokes, some of which, peppered with swear words, were deliberately aimed to upset the ‘politically correct’ faction of the audience while entertaining the rest of us. Clarke’s work was known and loved by a large number of the audience, with cheers for their favourites ‘Beasley Street’ and ‘Chickentown’. He rounded off his set by reading ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ which he was proud to remind us had been turned into a song by The Arctic Monkeys.

John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

The Brighton audience warmed to Clarke, his often cheeky, irreverent and humorous poems chimed with them, this one-off people’s poet was one of them, you felt, and the nearest we have to an entertainer from the old music hall tradition but who is very relevant today.

John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre 26.11.22 (pic Ian Bourn)

John Cooper Clarke setlist:
‘Hire Car’
‘Get Back On Drugs You Fat F*ck’
‘Bed Blocker Blues’
‘Lydia, Girl With An Itch’
‘Necrophilia’
‘Home Honey I’m High/Things Are Gonna Get Worse’
‘Beasley Street’
‘Beasley Boulevard’
‘I’ve Fallen In Love With My Wife’
‘Chicken’
‘Tw*t’
‘I Wanna Be Yours’

johncooperclarke.com

Tour flyer
Squeeze setlist (pic Ian Bourn)
ShareTweetShareSendSendShare

Comments 2

  1. Daniel says:
    3 years ago

    The bass player is Owen Biddle, not Sean Hurley.

    Reply
    • Nick Linazasoro says:
      3 years ago

      Thanks Daniel.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Most read

Brighton man jailed for years of abusing girls starting when he was just 10

Brighton hotel owner owes council almost £1m

Meeting called to discuss school’s academy plans

New Hove seafront cycle lane plans unveiled

Council joint venture buys land for hundreds of new homes

Indian restaurant owner rebuffed again by licensing panel

Gas main damaged during Spiegelgarden take-down

The music of Squeeze is the food of love

Benefits changes could push thousands into poverty, councillors fear

Late-licence refusal amounts to discrimination, says business owner

Newsletter

Arts and Culture

  • All
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Food and Drink
Goth-Pop act Vision Video highlight ‘Modern Horror’

Goth-Pop act Vision Video highlight ‘Modern Horror’

17 June 2025
Oh! Darling – in Brighton for one night only

Oh! Darling – in Brighton for one night only

17 June 2025
The Mullet Monster Mafia play first ever Brighton gig!

The Mullet Monster Mafia play first ever Brighton gig!

16 June 2025
Top Left Club staying sick as ever!

Top Left Club staying sick as ever!

15 June 2025
Load More

Sport

  • All
  • Brighton and Hove Albion
  • Cricket
Brighton and Hove Albion sign Italy international

Brighton and Hove Albion sign Italy international

by Frank le Duc
17 June 2025
0

Brighton and Hove Albion have signed a 21-year-old Italy international to add to the Seagulls’ defensive options. Diego Coppola has...

Sussex Sharks open T20 Blast with a win

Sussex Sharks stay top of their group with T20 triumph at Glamorgan

by Blake Bint - ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
14 June 2025
0

Glamorgan 172 (18.5 overs) Sussex 199-7 (20 overs) Sussex won by 27 runs. Sussex 4 points, Glamorgan 0 points. Sussex...

Sussex Sharks open T20 Blast with a win

Rain saves Sussex Sharks in T20 against Essex at Hove

by Adrian Colley
13 June 2025
0

Sussex 23-3 (3.1 overs) Essex 177-4 (17 overs) No result Essex’s hopes of claiming their first win of the season...

Brighton and Hove Albion announce Kostoulas signing

Brighton and Hove Albion announce Kostoulas signing

by Frank le Duc
12 June 2025
0

Brighton and Hove Albion have announced the signing of 18-year-old striker Charalampos Kostoulas from Greek champions Olympiacos on a five-year...

Load More
November 2022
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  
« Oct   Dec »

RSS From Sussex News

  • Hospital trust agrees six-figure payout after seven-year battle over traumatic birth 17 June 2025
  • CPS drops rape case against Sussex Police officer 17 June 2025
  • Female teacher sexually abused schoolgirl 16 June 2025
  • Bungalow owner aims to build nine homes on village plot 16 June 2025
  • Boy, 12, taken to hospital after hit and run 16 June 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy
  • Complaints
  • Ownership, funding and corrections
  • Ethics
  • T&C

© 2023 Brighton and Hove News

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Opinion
  • Arts and Culture
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Sport
    • Cricket
  • Newsletter
  • Public notices
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Contact

© 2023 Brighton and Hove News