Crowded House, Squeeze reunite for summer

Band failed to reunite before
The Squeeze that is touring this summer does not include original keyboardist Jools Holland or drummer Gilson Lavis. But it does bring together Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the singing and songwriting team that was the band’s heart.

Not that it was easy. Squeeze, which broke up in 1999, was once featured in a reality show that tried to reunite the band for a one-night gig. It failed.

“We had an exhausting marriage that went on for 25 years,” Difford said. “It got to a point where we needed counseling but we didn’t bother with counseling. We just got into the boxing ring. The boxing ring of silence, really, because we didn’t actually say or do anything.”

The two men had to talk to make decisions surrounding the re-release of some of their material in Britain. Tilbrook initially rejected a suggestion to tour together but changed his mind, Difford said.

Smart move. Tilbrook and Difford separately may draw some folks to a small club. As Squeeze, the name behind songs like “Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed” and “Up the Junction,” they can fill much larger venues, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of the concert industry publication Pollstar.

In in for the money
There’s another business reality behind the spate of reunions, Bongiovanni said.

“A lot of these musicians could get better paydays today than when they were touring at the height of their careers, when touring was done as a way to sell records,” he said. “Today you tour to make money.”

Finn said he doubts that he would be able to make considerably more money with the band than he would as a solo artist.

“Sharing the proceeds with the band means I may end up with less but it will be a lot more fun,” he said. “In the end the collaboration and band dynamic will make the future bigger and brighter.”

A sense of appreciation for Squeeze’s legacy, along with time, smoothed over many of the resentments that had kept him apart from Tilbrook, Difford said. His partner is, ultimately, “like another wing of my family,” he said.

Just a nostalgia act
Unlike the men of Crowded House, Difford doesn’t see Squeeze with a future as anything more than a nostalgia act.

“Things are far too complicated,” he said. “Then again, I didn’t think we would go on tour. Things can change and things will change and that’s the beauty of our relationship.”

At the time of its demise, Squeeze felt it was treading water creatively. Difford wonders how much interest there would be in a new Squeeze album from anyone besides a few devoted fans.

He’s keenly interested in an example set by Prince, who has given away new CDs to fans who buy tickets to his concerts.

“Most of the people who come to our gigs are coming for a nostalgia show, to remind them of their college days or a romance,” he said. “Are they going to buy my solo album or Glenn’s? I don’t think they are. But if you gave it to them, I think they’d be happy to have it.”

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