Another insight into the Squeeze archive here at Packet of Three Towers:
Putting On The (UK) Squeeze
Trouser Press, October 1978. by Jim Green

“And we did record loads of dirty phone calls.”

“Hey, you guys are great! Now which one of you is Bill Bruford?” That’s the kind of reception UK Squeeze got on their American tour. Nobody’d heard of them before in, say, Texas, except some wit who’d got them pegged – as UK, the Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Alan Holdsworth band. In Limeyland they’re just Squeeze, plain n’ simple, but there’s this bar band from Connecticut or somewhere that’s got the name registered in five states here and threatened to sue in all of ‘em if they didn’t change the name. Thus, they added “UK”.
But the reaction to their music is much the same on both sides of the Atlantic- people get up and jump around, holler a lot and generally have a grand ‘ol time. In England, their single, “Take Me I’m Yours”, was quite a smash, and they found themselves playing large venues like the Lyceum. Arriving Stateside as a relatively unknown quantity, they were able to obtain bookings in the South and West in small halls and large clubs, were pleased to find themselves generating quite a bit of excitement, and amazed at some of the forms it took.
Singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Difford: “Jacksonville was an amazing gig-” “Yeah, just crazy,” piped in drummer Gilson Lavis. “People were jumping out of windows, dancing on tables, on the bar…”
“D’you remember in Texas, San Antonio or something, people were shaking our hands?” recalled keyboardist Jools Holland.
You might say that UK Squeeze are a dance band with a difference. Not everything they play live is, strictly speaking, boogie for body-wiggling; for instance “Strong In Reason”, about the decadence of body-builders showing over-developed muscles for money, ain’t primo booty-shaking material, though it is (ahem) a strong number. But the majority of their set is tough, fast-paced rock n’ roll that causes heads to start bobbing and feet twitching (rock therapy for sedentary souls).
Not too threatening is it? Even if it is jungle music that insidiously subverts bodies. But some promoters were initially put off because the band had been labelled new wave. “We’ve got a lot of the energy that the punk bands have,” said Jools, “and we were doing a lot of the same gigs.”
“We were playing the Roxy when the Pistols and the Clash were playing there, so we were regarded in somewhat the same way,” explained Chris. “As it was, some of those bands we got along with, but a lot were pretty snotty characters, center-of-attention types.”

“Sometimes they’d throw glasses of piss at the band on stage, and once this geezer had a shot-gun and wanted to blow me leg off ’caused I’d yelled at ‘im.”

Said Gilson, “John Cale also- when he produced us”- their Packet Of Three EP on Deptford Fun City and their first album on A&M- “the associations he has with the new wave kind of rubbed off on us.” They got together with Cale through their manager, Miles Copeland, who also co-owns and administers various small labels under the Faulty Productions umbrella; Illegal, which put out Cale’s Animal Justice EP is one, and Spy, Cale’s own label, is another. Copeland went from managing and promoting straight-er, big name acts like Renaissance, to working with new wave artists out of disgust at the sterility of the music scene. “His accountant saw us at the Marquee and that was the beginning of our relationship,” said Jools.
It hadn’t been easy for them up to then. “There was a certain unsavory element,” said Jools. “Teenage thugs and disappointed footballers would say, ‘Let’s go down to the Marquee and beat up some punks,’” remembered Gilson.
Chris’ memories were equally lurid. “Sometimes they’d throw glasses of piss at the band on stage, and once this geezer had a shot-gun and wanted to blow me leg off ’caused I’d yelled at ‘im.”
Chris, Jools, Glenn Tilbrook (vocals and lead guitar) and Harry Kakoulli (bass) had been playing together “since school days.” About two years back they were gigging at a pub, and their drummer went off to the “lav” to relieve himself, only to land in a fight. Gilson, who just happened to be there, not only helped carry the poor fellow out to be carted off to the hospital, but accepted an offer to fill in for him for the remainder of the evening, after which he was “in”. Gilson had been doing back-up jobs for the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, and was ready to join a “real” band but wasn’t bold enough. “Cost me a lot of money to set up that fight,” he quipped slyly.
There were some fruitless sessions for RCA before Copeland lined them up with Cale and A&M, but working with Cale was an educational experience. Packet Of Three was just three dance numbers, part of the stage act; the album was another story. “He’d change the whole emphasis of a song,” said Jools of Cale. Gilson was quick to explain that “he didn’t put anything in, but would latch onto something we’d overlook, and build it up.’ They’ve got Richard Gottehrer in mind to complete their next album, some of which is already in the can. Squeeze themself display recording savvy of their own on the two tracks they self-produced; both are mainstays of their performances, and one, “Take Me,” became a hit in Britain.
A hilarious staple of Squeeze’s live set is rather explicit in its significance. It’s called “Deep Cuts,” and is about, well, naughty phone calls. They recorded a version of the song during the LP sessions but it was “a bit too smutty for A&M- though they’ll let us put it out on Deptford Fun City” (one of Copeland’s small labels).
Chris, who leads the heavy-breathing brigade onstage in contemplation of spreading peanut butter over choice parts of the female anatomy, said, “We’ve got a lot of versions of it, and might put out a live one since it’s evolved onstage. And we did record loads of dirty phone calls – for the B-side; we swapped lists of friends and called each others’ up. We’ve got some great ones.”
“Lots of hanging up and ‘I’ll call the police,’ but a lot of ‘em thought they knew who was calling. ‘Is this Michael?’ ‘Robert, is that you?’” said Jools.
One thing’s certain: next time they come over, many more will know who UK Squeeze is

Here’s an insight into the Squeeze archive at www.packetofthree.com:

BANG BANG SQUEEZE
Is Canada Cool Enough For These Cats?

by Peter Noble, The New Music Magazine, Sept 1979

We’ll still live up to our slightly mischievous, irresistible schoolboy humour because, let’s face it … that’s what Squeeze is all about.

“Pop music has acquired a dirty reputation over the past ten years. It began with the emergence of psychedelic music, putting less emphasis on singles in favour of album-oriented compositions … that’s where FM rock radio comes into full perspective. Disco and formula pop music flooded the charts in England with the likes of Gary Glitter, Mud, and Sweet. These groups tried to create a certain niche for themselves, but they weren’t that convincing, which is where Squeeze comes in,” suggests writer/guitarist Glenn Tilbrook.

Originally entitled U.K. Squeeze, this outrageous quintet gained recognition when they recorded Packet of Three, an extended play on their independent label, Deptford Fun City, produced by ex-Velvets mainman John Cale. Over a period of six months the E.P. sold 25,000 copies, thus Squeeze was contracted to A&M records with Cale at the control boards.

Glenn recalls, “After recording our debut album we weren’t satisfied with two of the tracks which Cale produced. Inevitably, we took them off and replaced them with two filler tracks, ‘Take Me I’m Yours’ and ‘Bang Bang’, which we produced ourselves. Surprisingly enough, those particular songs turned out to be the single releases from the album.”

Squeeze experienced the ultimate in success with the release of their second and most recent platter, Cool For Cats. Three singles, ‘Goodbye Girl’, ‘Cool For Cats’ and ‘Up The Junction’, received rave reviews on the charts, while two of them reached the number two position.

“I don’t know if you’re familiar with the phrase ‘Cool For Cats’ in Canada, but it was the first rock ‘n’ roll television show in England during 1959. That’s where the album and single title originated … I just worked it into some personal experiences within the lyrical content,” explained lyricist/rhythm guitarist Chris Difford.

“One of the nice things about Squeeze is that we’re not particularly snobbish in our approach to live performances,” said Glenn. “There’ve been several British groups who have played smaller venues on their North American visits and really loathe the idea of going down several levels. Playing a club like The Edge in Toronto is enjoyable for me because it’s easier to communicate with people within such an intimate atmosphere.”

Recently, original bassist Harry Kakoulli left the group to pursue the realm of disco. In his place is newcomer John Bentley, who, as Glenn admits, “is much more rock ‘n’ roll inclined.”

Drummer Gilson Lavis created a colourful history for himself as an extensive session musician. Drumming for such notables as Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, Gilson has the experience and credibility which make him an irreplaceable constituent within Squeeze.

Keyboardist Jools Holland has the reputation of being one of England’s highly acclaimed ‘boogie woogie’ pianists. With glasses, hat, bow tie and cigar between his lips, Jools radiates one of the most charismatic stage presences in rock ‘n’ roll today. An extended play entitled Boogie Woogie ’78 was produced and performed by Jools on the Deptford Fun City label. Among the five tunes, ‘Buick ’48′, ‘Mess Around’ and ‘Boogie Woogie Country Girl’ display impressive piano-flavoured rock ‘n’ roll boogie rhythms.

Says Glenn, “The next album will be more of an extension of Cool For Cats. It’ll be much more polished, yet we’ll try to maintain the same kind of emotion because, as of late, we have familiarized ourselves with the studio and the facilities that are available.

“The next disc will be self-produced by Squeeze with the assistance of our soundman John Wood. We’ll still live up to our slightly mischievous, irresistible schoolboy humour because, let’s face it … that’s what Squeeze is all about.