Have you heard of this band?

Last week I was talking to a colleague (he’s a big music fan and just about to turn 40, usually very knowledgable about most genres) about music and the upcoming Glastonbury line-up. I mentioned that Squeeze had just been added to the line-up and I was really looking forward to it. He said he didn’t know of them, I said ‘you know, Jools Holland (who, thankfully he HAD heard of, but only because of TV), Glen Tilbrook’ etc, then proceeded to play a couple of tracks (Cool for Cats, Up the Junction) and still he had zero recollection of them as a band at all. To say I was astounded was an understatement!

Old folk,they are just so cute 😉 😆 🤣

Kids, eh?  My first ever proper gig, late 1981.  Jools Holland had already moved on by then.

I know who Jools Holland is and know that he used to be in a band but that’s it. I’m 47 for reference.

I am just about to turn 40.

I know exactly who squeeze because of a couple of random punk covers.

With the exception of totp2 when would you expect him to have heard of them.

They were effectively done before he was born. So a good what 12years later when music began to resonate they hardly lived on.

And if the only tie is jools holland… The dullest music tv show of all time… It’s not going to inspire looking further into his back catalogue.

haha had exactly the same with a few (middle aged, not young pups) at work.  mentioned squeeze and was met with puzzled looks.  you know, jools holland was in them….. yep heard of jools holland but not even heard of squeeze let alone that JH was in them.  i couldnt quite believe it.

Is a Jools Holland ticket cheaper than a Taylor Swift ticket though?

The people need to know 😃

Try working with people under 25 and having greatest hits radio on at work. 95% of the music was a hit before they were born which they describe as “grandad music”

I think you’d get the same reaction for all but a dozen punk/new wave era bands. Try him again with XTC.

I’m 44, Squeeze just soymd like smug pretentious nonescence, maybe my age has allowed me to miss their historical context

My daughter was impressed that the randomized playlist on my phone started playing Pink Floyd’s Time when we were driving in the car. I gather that the song was in one of the MCU movies and she was amazed that, “You know this song?”

With the exception of totp2 when would you expect him to have heard of them

Purely because he is a big music fan with lots of music knowledge and, even if he didn’t know the name of the band, I assumed he would have at least recognised the songs when I played them to him.

I’d have expected most people to have heard of Jools Holland from the Hootenanny if nothing else.  Squeeze as a band mostly passed me by.  I know the songs you listed, but I’d have drawn a blank until you did.

I actually saw them live in Milton Keynes in I think 1991, “Rock The Bowl” festival.  Thunder, Little Angels, Squeeze, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top.  Curiously, MK Bowl’s own website lists “The Law” instead of Squeeze, I’m 99% certain that’s incorrect.

I’m 42 and I’ve heard of Squeeze, Joolze Holland and XTC.

My colleagues all the take the Mickey about my lack of knowledge of popular culture (last week getting Robert De Nero and Danny Divito confused 🤷)

Thunder, Little Angels, Squeeze, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top.

That’s a great line up!

Surprised the OPs friend didn’t know the songs if not the group. Glen Tillbrook played a local festival c2001 round here and although I didn’t recognise the name, he just stood on stage and belted Squeeze’s greatest hits out, was amazing. (Way better than Bryan Adams who was headlining).

I think I saw Squeeze are supporting Heart on their next tour. Don’t tell me you don’t know who Heart are….

Purely because he is a big music fan with lots of music knowledge and, even if he didn’t know the name of the band, I assumed he would have at least recognised the songs when I played them to him.

But when? Like let’s  say the most likely way you hear old also ran bands these days is in a rabbit hole of “also listened to” on spotify. Or on a tv or film playlist.

He’d have to have an interest in some sort of link, and like that enough to listen to some more “similar”. So who is going to lead you to squeeze? I can’t think of it popping up on a tv show or film. So similar music?… Joe Jackson seems unlikely. Elvis Costello? More likely. 10cc? Possibly but none of them are exactly pumping them out these days so unless you already have an awaredness i don’t think its that surprising.

Some bands just don’t stand the test of time and just fade away. And as someone alluded to… Its a bit… Tedious. Cool for cat is great as is take me i’m Yours too. But alot of it is croony guff.

maybe my age has allowed me to miss their historical context

I’m pretty sure Up The Junction still has some “resonance”.

Saw them at Liverpool University in 1988. They had definitely waned from the charts by then. Wasn’t a massive fan per se but had a few singles and thought it was an opportunity not to miss them.

re the surprising youngsters with music- my daughter was into Stranger Things so was astonished that I knew a lot of the songs and even had some as singles/ albums.

She was watching a YT challenge clip where teams had to guess the song and artist of tracks played in the show. Got to the last one that was “really hard” – first few notes and I say it’s Atmosphere by Joy Division. Cue look of shock from her that I knew it. The adulation only last for a few seconds, then back to normal!

my daughter was into Stranger Things so was astonished that I knew a lot of the songs and even had some as singles/ albums.

Yeah, we fostered a 10 yr old who was into Stranger Things and he was very impressed with my playlists in the car (and when he streamed his music, I was equally impressed) 🙂

I’m old enough to just about vaguely remember Squeeze.  But my question is, is the blonde in this video Lesley Ash?

I’m 44 and a bit and yes, heard of and know of them

In fairness, I’ve always listened to stuff before my time, typically anything from 40s through 70s into early mid 80s

I find I know this better than anything after about 1988…

it’s not Lesley Ash.  I see Squeeze are doing a 50th anniversary tour which is largely sold out in decent sized venues.

Although I’ll cheerfully admit that most of today’s music is lost on me, what surprises is just how enduring older music is (as in, just how much you hear in the background in public spaces) and would have expected younger generations might have thought “i wonder what that is?” – not necessarily because it is the best tune written but because it was unknown – and tried Shazam to fill a knowledge gap.

Jeeeze! re the above I got squeeze mixed up with sparx – put me on the same list as your mate 🙂

I got squeeze mixed up with sparx

This town isn’t big enough
Not big enough for both of them

That’s a great line up!

Aye. I was ambivalent at best about ZZ Top beforehand, but they put on a great show and were clearly having a lot of fun.

Although I’ll cheerfully admit that most of today’s music is lost on me

I was watching a music quiz on TV a little while back. You could draw a line at the year 2000, questions prior to that I was killing it and my partner’s mid-20s daughter had no idea, after that she was on fire and I was lost.

Pulling Mussels is a great song.

Although I’ll cheerfully admit that most of today’s music is lost on me, what surprises is just how enduring older music is

That’s just survivorship bias: the classics still get played, but the cruft (and there was a lot of it) is thankfully lost to history. Watch old episodes of TOTP on YouTube, from the years before you started listening to music, and there’ll be 1 or 2 acts you know, and the rest is crap.

Saw them live at the Odeon in Edinburgh. IIRC they were the last act to play their before the venue was split up to create a “multiplex”.

My favourite track would probably be Up the Junction with its very non-standard structure.

Talking of names who were big Back in the Day, I see Declan MacManus is touring this year too.

“I see Squeeze are doing a 50th anniversary tour which is largely sold out in decent sized venues.”

They’ve been selling out every venue for the last 10 years. I’d love to see them, but the tickets are always too expensive (not Taylor Swift expensive, but around £50, which I think is too much).
I think Alison Moyet was the most expensive ticket I’ve bought at £45, she was excellent, I think Beth Hart was a similar price too.

Re ticket prices: when I am trying to work out whether I am being unreasonable about the cost of events, I gauge it off what a Premier League football ticket costs me, which is c£40 for 90 minutes (or a fair bit more given VAR) c25 times a year, whereas a concert is probably longer (including support acts) and being rather more infrequent is a bit more of an event.  So £50 is ball park in my view.

That’s just survivorship bias: the classics still get played, but the cruft (and there was a lot of it) is thankfully lost to history. Watch old episodes of TOTP on YouTube, from the years before you started listening to music, and there’ll be 1 or 2 acts you know, and the rest is crap.

Exactly. City Boy anyone?

I’d say there’s artists who transcend a genre, an era or who simply have enough plays to command awareness from most music fans.

Can’t see Squeeze hitting any of those 3 to be honest.

Never heard of Squeeze (ofc familiar with that cool for cats song). But my finger is in the pulse, I came across an amazing new band the other day  – The Smile… Then discovered they were just Radiohead.

43, grew up on Squeeze as my dad loved them.

*wanders off humming ‘I never thought it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham *

That’s just survivorship bias: the classics still get played, but the cruft (and there was a lot of it) is thankfully lost to history.

Think this is missing the word populist. It’s the populist classics that still get air time, see technotronic, snap, salt n pepper 😏

Although I’ll cheerfully admit that most of today’s music is lost on me

My daughter has been at Parklife all weekend. I looked at the line up and I’d not heard of any of them.

This is surely the way things are meant to be?

Squeeze were the thing in the late 70’s to mid 80’s. Music was definitely uplifting, compared to most rock bands of the era.

But who can forget Sigue Sigue sputnik, who were popular about the same time as Squeeze

Think this is missing the word populist. It’s the populist classics that still get air time, see technotronic, snap, salt n pepper 😏

To a certain point – most classics are top 10 hits with a certain level of musical quality. But there are exceptions: you’ll still hear Lou Reed/Velvet Underground songs on the radio, despite not being huge hits at the time. I’d argue that the the 3 artists you mention are of their time but not actually that bad.

Thankfully it’s been a while since I last heard Agadoo or Star Trekkin’ 🙂