Concerts

Q&A: Chris Difford on Squeeze, Boston, and Squeeze in Boston

Squeeze and fellow new wave favorites The Psychedelic Furs will entrance a Boch Center audience with timeless tunes on Sept. 12.

The current lineup of Squeeze. Danny Clifford

5 minutes to read

Whether as a band, a duo, a solo act, openers, or headliners, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze have been reliable visitors to Boston in recent years.

Since 2015, the songwriting team that first joined forces in 1974 has played three times at The Wilbur and once at Xfinity Center in support of Daryl Hall & John Oates. Moreover, Glenn Tilbrook played solo at City Winery last year (here is my interview with him in advance of that gig).

In each case, the Lennon-McCartney of the British new wave stood before an audience that basked in the pure delight of being treated to classic late-’70s/ early-’80s favorites such as “Up the Junction,” “Another Nail In My Heart,” Pulling Mussels (From the Shell),” and “Tempted.”

On Sept. 12, Squeeze will check another box on their list of local stops when they arrive at Boch Center, where they will appear at the top of what some might justifiably call a co-headlining bill with The Psychedelic Furs.

Difford — who writes the lyrics that are most often sung (with the notable exception of “Cool For Cats”) by Tilbrook, who writes the music — spoke to me via Zoom ahead of the show.

Boston.com: The last time that Squeeze toured the U.S., it was in support of Daryl Hall & John Oates. Was their audience receptive to your songs?

Chris Difford: Oh, absolutely. Completely. I kind of love short sets, ‘cause you can just sort of hit everybody between the eyes and then go out for a meal. So yeah, it was really good. I really enjoyed it. Daryl Hall and John Oates are really sweet people.

What has kept you and Glenn Tilbrook together for so long despite your occasional quarrels?

Well, I think that the common thread is our songs and the ability to put on a really good show, hopefully. You know, I think it’s true of most bands that have been together for 50 years, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to be welded to each other’s sides because as you grow older, things change. You have different points of view and different outlooks. Having said that, from my point of view there’s a huge amount of admiration and respect for what Glenn does.

Do you have any particular memories of coming to Boston from throughout your career?

1978 was when we first went to Boston, and we played The Rathskeller. I remember that there wasn’t very much to do around there and not a lot to eat. It was a pretty grimy club. The Damned had played there the week before, I think. What I remember about Boston was falling in love with it, because it was such a great city. It was calmer than New York in those days. And it seemed like every time I went there I fell in love with it even more.

Chris Difford, left, and Glenn Tilbrook – Danny Clifford

How do you and Glenn decide on a setlist?

We kind of have conversations about which songs we’re gonna get the band to rehearse. I always hope that we can throw in some surprises and some gifts for people to take away, really. People pay a lot of money to come to a concert and they’ve gotta get value for their money.

Is it difficult to strike a balance among hits, fan favorites, and personal favorites?

Yeah, I believe so. I was just reading a review of Bruce Springsteen, not that we’re anything like him, but he manages to start the show with an hour’s set of rough cuts, if you like, then he does 10 hits in a row. So I think, if you’ve got the balls, you can take an audience anywhere you want to.

There are several members of Squeeze who are not named Chris or Glenn. Can you tell me about them?

Simon Hanson [drums] and Stephen Large [keyboards] were in the band originally when we got back together. They were also part of Glenn’s solo albums, so he kind of felt secure in the fact that they could do a good job, so I trusted that. And we’ve got Owen Biddle, who’s a fantastic bass player who lives in Nashville currently. Great producer and a great person to have on tour. And then Steve Smith, who is not only a fantastic percussionist, but a grounding for within the network of the band and a great singer. And Melvin Duffy plays pedal steel primarily, but can turn his sound into pretty much anything.

Have you noticed any changes in the composition of the audience in terms of the ages of people in attendance?

Yeah. I think like a rubber band, they’re expanding in both directions. You’ve got people who are getting older and maybe not as quick to get up from their seats as they used to be. And then you’ve got younger people who maybe their parents have turned them on to the music, or they’ve discovered us via Spotify.

Were you surprised when you finally scored your first two American top 40 hits in 1987 with “Hourglass” and “853-5937”?

I was constantly surprised in those days by whatever happened. My eyes were wide open. MTV was what did it for us, like it did for so many bands, so many artists. It was a kiss of life to be on MTV because you were in everybody’s house. Today, I suppose, it’s been replaced because there isn’t anything on TV that’s like that anymore. So it’s gold dust to be on a TV show it America. It doesn’t come along very often.

Will Squeeze be doing anything to commemorate your 50 years together?

I don’t hear any conversations like that. I’m recording a podcast, which includes memories of those 50 years, and that will become available later this year. [Difford has hosted the podcast I Never Thought It Would Happen – which are the opening lyrics to “Up the Junction” – since 2021.]

When can fans expect a collection of new material?

The truth of the matter is we’re not working on anything at the moment. We’re planning to, but I don’t know when that will be. We’ve been trying to get the finances to make a record, because the minute a musician walks in the room, that’s an expense. So we can write the songs and we probably will in future months, but to record them is a different thing. But I’m hopeful that within the next 18 months we should have a new album.

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