Tupelo Music Hall welcomes Glenn Tilbrook
On the strength of songs like “Tempted,” “Black Coffee In Bed” and “Up The Junction,” the Squeeze songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook has been likened to Lennon and McCartney. However, since Difford penned lyrics and Tilbrook wrote music, a better analogy is Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
In Difford’s biography, Some Fantastic Place, he recalled waiting giddily to hear what Tilbrook had done with his words. “Glenn sits in the middle of my life like the musical maypole,” he wrote. But it was also a fractious relationship marked by an eight-year separation, when Squeeze broke up in 1999.
During this time Squeeze’s melody man found a way with words, starting in 2001 with The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook. In a recent phone interview, however, the singer-guitarist recalled going solo as a less than joyful experience. “It was a bit of a nasty shock, actually,” Tilbrook said. “There were moments I thought, I’m proud of that, I think that stands out … then there are other things I wish I hadn’t done.”
He’s made three more solo albums; the latest is 2014’s Happy Ending, an effort Tilbrook is quite proud of. “It points at how Squeeze could be in some ways, and still is to me,” he said. There’s similar fondness for Pandemonium Ensues, a 2009 album that featured a surreal guest vocal appearance by Johnny Depp.
Tilbrook came to a conclusion at the end of his learning curve, though. “I’m confident in myself now as a lyricist, and I’m also confident in the fact that I don’t really want to do solo records,” he said. “I’d like to bring my expertise to Squeeze.”
Now, he contributes more lyrically to the Difford & Tilbrook writing process, albeit from a different wheelhouse. “He’s a brilliant lyricist… such a great imagination,” Tilbrook said of Difford. “I can tie things up really in a more forensic way than Chris, and so we’re sort of combining those skills.”
The two just completed a new song, “Food For Thought,” that will be released in the U.K. to raise funds for Trussell Trust, a charity focused on food insecurity issues.
“When we play gigs in the U.K., we funnel money to local food banks,” he said. “I’d love to be able to do that here [in the U.S.], because people need that. It’s a shame, but they do. I’ve been working with [Trussell Trust] for five years, and it seems that people need it now more than ever.”
Tilbrook was slated to play the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry on Sunday, Oct. 2, but at the end of last week Tupelo owner Scott Hayward learned that the Oct. 2 appearance was canceled: “We are so sorry for the bad news,” Hayward wrote on Facebook “We were really looking forward to this one.” As of Sept. 26, Tilbrook’s Oct. 7 stop at City Winery in Boston is still on the schedule. See glenntilbrook.com.
Although he has no plans to do more solo albums, Tilbrook enjoys playing alone; it offers a contrast to his still-burgeoning group. “Squeeze is very meticulously rehearsed, and we’re a great band; I think we’re the best we’ve ever been,” he said. “Conversely, when I’m by myself, I can improvise, I don’t work with a setlist…. I like to go off on tangents, so each night is different from the one before, and people like that.”
The shows offer an eclectic mix that touches on every stage of a career that began in the mid-’70s, along with a few tasty covers, which began with Tilbrook’s livestreams during lockdown. “I love other people’s music, and it’s really great to get inside that and do it yourself,” he said of the sessions, which grew to include his wife and son. “I had no reason to do that other than I wanted to, and to bring the family together.”
Fans at recent gigs have been treated to David Bowie’s “Starman,” the Human League dance hit “Don’t You Want Me,” and “Rocket Man” by Elton John. “What a lovely song,” Tilbrook said of the latter. “It translates very well to just me and a guitar, and it’s a tip of the hat to what a magnificent achievement Elton’s career has been. I’m full of admiration for him.”
Squeeze will be back on the road soon enough, after doing several festivals in England over the summer.
“It was like witnessing magic,” Tilbrook said of the experience. “The sense of relief from the crowds was really palpable, the joy of being able to do something communal again. Because I’ve been gigging for a year now, I’ve got used to it, but you still see that in people’s faces when you’re playing…. It just shows you what a joy it is — not just for us, but any event that you share with people is really precious.”
Featured photo: Glenn Tilbrook. Photo by Rob O’Connor.
