Lancaster author publishes book about pop band Squeeze

Squeeze – The Pop Music Played tells the remarkable story of Squeeze, the new wave group formed by legendary songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, and keyboard wizard Jools Holland.

The south east London band ruled the charts in the late seventies and early eighties with hits such as Take Me I’m Yours, Cool for Cats, Up the Junction and Tempted.

By 1982 they were selling out Madison Square Garden and Difford and Tilbrook had been tagged as ‘The Lennon and McCartney of New Wave’ by Rolling Stone magazine.

Although Squeeze conquered the hearts of fans the world over, the full story of their ‘classic’ 1978-1982 career on A&M Records has never been told in print - until now.

For James, a former national Guardian journalist who has also worked extensively as a television scriptwriter, The Pop Music Played is the culmination of a 30-year dream: “I’m a life-long Squeeze fan, and I first hatched a plan to write this book back in the nineties. But the Squeeze story is a long and complex one, and I wanted to get it right.”

As well as drawing on dozens of vintage interviews from the glory years of British and American pop journalism, the book features unique contributions from three

former Squeeze members, who were only too happy to help.

James said: “Squeeze came up in a uniquely exciting time in British music, with the punk and new wave scene exploding around them. The book delves deep into that era, when it seemed that every week there was another fantastic new band on Top

of the Pops.

Online reviews have been enthusiastic, with readers queuing up to praise the attention to detail and fast-moving style. The book is being featured as one of US Amazon’s Top 50 Hot New Sellers in the category of Music Biographies.

Squeeze – The Pop Music Played by James Griffiths is available to buy now on Amazon here.

Listen to Gary Hickson’s interview with James on Radio Lancashire (11.20) here