They rediscovered an old tape with the first songs they ever wrote

At their peak, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were quite rightly compared with every other great songwriting duo, Jagger & Richards, Page & Plant; they were cited as ‘heirs to Lennon and McCartney’ for their catchy, relatable, kitchen-sink storytelling tunes and rich melodies. Even now, us true fans, who have been there from those post-punk days, believe they are still as good right now, and their latest album Trixies confirms that, writes Michael Holland.

Trixies has been created from the discovery of an old cassette tape with the first songs they ever wrote on it; songs that were written before their early Top Ten hits.

Trixies was planned to be a concept album-rock opera, in the style of The Who’s recently released Quadrophenia, and set in a nightclub. But their big ideas were held back by their lack of music-making knowledge: ‘These were songs that we just didn’t have enough musical experience to record properly,’ reveals Chris Difford.

Finding the tape, and recording what is really their first album, spurred them on to write more songs for another album that will soon follow.

Glenn Tilbrook says, ‘The act of revisiting the Trixies songs had me in tears, partly because they’re so good, but also because I’m aware of all the stuff that I’ve still yet to hear and write… The songs that we wrote then astound me. I’m proud of them, and I’m particularly proud that it was a young us that did that. These recordings are very much the same songs that we wrote then. The only difference is that now I can teach the songs to the rest of the band; back then, I didn’t even know what the names of the chords were!’

Chris agrees, ‘It really fills me with joy that at my age we can discover that we wrote such great songs when we were teenagers. I’m very proud of that.’

The SE Londoners will be touring the UK and in November will be playing on their home ground – O2 in Greenwich – just a walk from where it all began over 50 years ago.

Squeeze will be joined by Billy Bragg on their Tried, Tested and Trixies tour.

Booking and full tour details: https://www.squeezeofficial.com/