Have you heard of this band?

Early 80’s is a blind spot in my musical knowledge other than Bad Brains, Gang of Four and Dead Kennedys. I’m guessing squeeze weren’t popular enough to continue to be played now or cult enough to still have a following years later.

Anyway, the debate about Squeeze reminds me of this:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/billie-eilish-van-halen-920487/

(and Van Halen were a lot, lot bigger than Squeeze!)

I saw Squeeze along with Radio Stars and Eddie and The Hot Rods at Swindon Oasis. Also saw Dire Straits supporting Talking Heads there, touring the album 77, in 1977.

I doubt any Gen X, Y, Z or anyone younger than 50 is likely to have heard of them. 🤷🏼

The thing is, Squeeze were active 1974-82, 85-99, and 2007- present. Some people just don’t pay attention.

It’s not about paying attention, more about relevance to ones own musical sphere. I listen to a lot of music from different eras but squeeze have never really been on my radar. Listened to a few of their tracks since this thread started and I won’t be adding any of their albums or tracks to my catalogue. Okay and of their time would best describe them from my pov.

The thing is, Squeeze were active 1974-82, 85-99, and 2007- present. Some people just don’t pay attention.

Yeah but they had a couple of minor hits when they started out, since then nothing. Not so much not paying attention, more that they were non-existant in popular culture.

I fell asleep at a Jules Holland’s Big Band gig at the Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Festival

In my defence I was very, very drunk.

City Boy anyone?

Supporting The Sutherland Brothers (and Quiver)  at the Usher Hall..(77)

I am sure they only had the one song..  5.7.0.5

Jeez…I feel my age now 🫤🤣🤣🤣

If he’s not heard of Squeeze, and claims to be a music fan, then he’s probably a fan of shit music.

😉

“Thankfully it’s been a while since I last heard Agadoo”

And you probably won’t again, at least not live – Colin Gibb died last week.

As for not knowing who Squeeze was – if you are interested in the history of British rock/punk/soul bands then you’ll always have heard of them – if you ‘just like listening to bands’ then you probably won’t. See also The Undertones, Killing Joke, The Fall, Pil, New Model Army, The Alarm and X ray Spex. All influential bands but not really hit makers.

I doubt any Gen X, Y, Z or anyone younger than 50 is likely to have heard of them.

surely Gen X are the age group that will have heard them? Childhood in 70s/80s

We had a lady in the shop yesterday who had just returned from living in Texas. She used to live in Suffolk but married an American airman in the 70s. He died so she returned back here.

Labelled with love come true.

 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.

Yeah, young people today have no idea what you’re talking about when you drop a mention to Ernie.

As for not knowing who Squeeze was – if you are interested in the history of British rock/punk/soul bands then you’ll always have heard of them

Or even wider than that, the history of modern music since 1950.  I have heard of loads of groups and singers from way before my birth just because I was interested in and open to listening to a lot of different music.

This was at a time when you had to hunt it out rather than it just turn up in streaming, Youtube etc,.  In the 80’s when I was a teenager my favourite bands tended to be current but I was also listening to groups/singers that other kids in my school had never heard of then and no doubt still haven’t heard of now.

.

I fell asleep at a Jules Holland’s Big Band gig at the Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Festival

In my defence I was very, very drunk.

MrsMC fell asleep in front of The Shamen at Glastonbury 30 years ago.

She still can’t stand the smell of Southern Comfort.  There may be a connection…..

They do it down at Camber Sands, they do it Waikiki…

35 here, Squeeze Greatest Hits was one of those CDs I remember being driven around to as a kid. Still recall the Rebus
puzzle on the cover. I think I enjoy pop music from any time really, I think it’s easy to forget the stuff that pervades from decades past is largely the better quality distilate. Listening to pick of the pops for example where there isn’t so much selective filtering, some weeks are utter pap!

I await my medal/cookie/pat on the head in the post!

 Have you heard of this band?

Yep. My big brother had Cool For Cats on 7″. I saved all his 7″ records from being chucked in a skip, so it’s in a box under my stairs now.

The rest of this discussion is actually quite weird.

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”

Took my then 14 year-old to the Bluedot festival, went with friends who had kids of similar age. When I asked why they don’t come and watch a band (Pixies, who my daughter has grown up with). I got the response why would I want to stand in a field with a bunch of old people listening to old peoples music? I left them with the face painter! As a responsible parent, I spent most of the festival following them around while making sure they didn’t spot me.

I’m guessing squeeze weren’t popular enough to continue to be played now

I’d say they do still get played quite a bit (certainly ‘Cool for Cats’ and ‘Up the Junction’) on stations like Radio 2 (and even Radio 6 sometimes) and all of the Bauer Media stations.

Remember seeing seeing Squeeze supporting Thin Lizzy at the Hammersmith Odeon.

I saw Chris Difford doing a solo (almost) set last year. I’m well aware of Squeeze, having grown up through the 70s/80s, but was amazed by how good he was on stage. He played a lot of songs but mainly told stories and was extremely funny. His pedal steel player, the only other person on stage was crying laughing at the stories about the music industry of this period and how Squeeze managed to fail at every hurdle. I would happily go and see him again – Squeeze as a band, I’m not sure as their tickets are quite pricey.

And Difford is a very clever song writer. The posters describing the songs as boring, crooner Dad rock are obviously not listening very hard.

Yeah but they had a couple of minor hits when they started out, since then nothing.

8 or 9 top 40 hits, including 2 x number 2s, at a time when you had to sell a lot of records to get in the charts. Pulling Mussels, one of their better known songs, didn’t even get into the top 40! It’s just that it’s a long , long time ago. (As a puerile comparison, how many people can name more than one – if that – of Ken Dodd’s 18 top 40 hits? He had the third best selling single of the 60s so we should be able to name it. 😀 )

Growing up in South London during that era you couldn’t help but know Squeeze – my mum had a habit of singing along to Labelled With Love whilst doing housework for years.

Most of them have had careers away from Squeeze, sometimes together, and one of my highlights of Glastonbury in ’94 was seeing Glenn Tilbrook play.

As @winston said, they were in that influential group of ‘new wave’ bands that influenced so much of what came next.

I don’t really find it surprising that someone hasn’t heard of someone. I haven’t heard of half the people in the famous people thread and had no idea who the bloke who died on holiday was. I have heard of Squeeze though and Glen Tilbrook was fantastic when I saw him at the Guildford Festival many years ago 🤷

“I’d say they do still get played quite a bit (certainly ‘Cool for Cats’ and ‘Up the Junction’) on stations like Radio 2 (and even Radio 6 sometimes) and all of the Bauer Media stations.”

Maybe so, but I reckon there’s also a correlation between age and regular radio listener too.

“8 or 9 top 40 hits, including 2 x number 2s, at a time when you had to sell a lot of records to get in the charts.”

For someone aged 40, wouldn’t all of those songs be released before your birth? So somewhat unlikely to come across them by accident. And perhaps I’m being simplistic but looking back on the late 70’s and early 80’s there’s a number of more significant artists than Squeeze playing that sort of music.

but looking back on the late 70’s and early 80’s there’s a number of more significant artists than Squeeze playing that sort of music.

Sums it up nicely for me. Nothing outstanding to appeal to the next generation(s). Just an okay band with an okay set of albums.

8 or 9 top 40 hits, including 2 x number 2s, at a time when you had to sell a lot of records to get in the charts.

By way of comparison. T’Pau had eight Top 40 hits including a number 1 here and in multiple other countries.

“A lot of records” is relative, you just have to sell more than everyone else.

It’s 45 years old.  If you’re under 40 you’ll have heard them on the radio once or twice, but it’s not standout music.

By way of comparison. T’Pau had eight Top 40 hits including a number 1

How many people can name any other song than China in Your Hands? Gawd they were awful 😂

How many people can name any other song than China in Your Hands? Gawd they were awful

Awful? I disagree. Would happily go and see them 🙂

Awful? I disagree. Would happily go and see them

I did see them back in the day. Trivia fact – T’Pau was a Vulcan Matriarch in Star Trek (rumoured to be Spock’s grandmother).

I went with my daughter (early 20s) to see Extreme and Scorpions on Saturday at Wembuuurleee.

I consider the proper  education of  the next generation to be important.

AC/DC next.

Awful? I disagree. Would happily go and see them

I’d have been with you except I followed Carol Decker on Twitter. She was a full on brexit-supporting covid-denying loon, so I unfollowed her. Still, you can like the music without liking the musician I suppose

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

That’s a perfect suggestion. Couple of hits but largely a muso’s band just like Squeeze.

But who can forget Sigue Sigue sputnik

Well that track was a banger, and featured in a couple of big movies IIRC – but it’s easy to forget the rest of their output.

Awful? I disagree. Would happily go and see them

I just newed that would happen 😅

How many people can name any other song than China in Your Hands? Gawd they were awful 😂

Precisely my point – most would consider them a one-hit wonder (though you probably know more than you think), but they had as many ‘hits’ by that metric as Squeeze did.

had no idea who the bloke who died on holiday was.

You never heard of George Orwell?

How many people can name any other song than China in Your Hands? Gawd they were awful 😂
Precisely my point – most would consider them a one-hit wonder (though you probably know more than you think), but they had as many ‘hits’ by that metric as Squeeze did.

But T’Pau still get played on the 80s radio stations and plenty of people will be able to name their one hit (!), whereas Squeeze don’t get played and nobody knows who they are. Does anyone know what the point is anymore?  Other than T’Pau being awful, which is demonstrably true. Almost as awful as the Lady in Red bloke. 😀

Oddly enough,

Who the hell is Jerry Fish?

CougarFull Member
Oddly enough,….

Apropos of nothing, I was given a bodhran as a present a few years ago and a Youtube search for ‘bodhran’ led me to a clip of Liam O Maonlai, (the lead singer of Hothouse Flowers) who is a wiz on a bodhran, apparently. Sadly for him, my wife looked at the wreck on screen playing a drum and said, ‘Awww, and he used to be so pretty!’.