South-London legends Squeeze have announced an extensive run of U.K dates kicking off on Oct 7th 2017 at Birmingham Symphony Hall and ending on Nov 6th 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall and with a very special night at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Saturday 4th November.
This follows the success of their North American tour in 2016 and the incredible reception to their latest album Cradle To The Grave. The band are currently working on a new album for 2017.
Chris Difford said, “I’m excited to say Squeeze are planning a new album release and a U.K. tour for 2017. As I put pencil to paper to write some ideas for the next album I have to say how confident I am about our bands future. I’m excited that Nine Below Zero are opening up for us as they’re a band I have a huge amount of respect for. At last something to look forward to in 2017!”
Glenn Tilbrook added, “following on from our work in 2015 and 2016 which saw us scale new heights as a band, we’re working on the first new collection of Squeeze songs since 2015’s Cradle To The Grave. We will be honoured to welcome our old chums Nine Below Zero as support. Their new album of covers, 13 Shades Of Blue is one of my favourite albums of this year.”
As well as a vast catalogue including hits such as Cool For Cats, Up The Junction and Tempted, they also have Cradle To The Grave to draw on, their first collection of new tracks since 1998. This album marked the complete and, frankly, triumphant reintegration of the masterful songwriting axis of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, in a beautifully-observed series of fond vignettes about childhood, growing up and the absurdities of the ride through life we’re all on. The live band now features a six-piece line up with Chris and Glenn joined by Simon Hanson (drums), Lucy Shaw (bass), Stephen Large (keyboards) and Melvin Duffy (guitar and various instruments.)
The band also hit the headlines around the world in 2016 when appearing on the B.B.C.’s current affairs show The Andrew Marr Show alongside fellow guest former Prime Minister David Cameron. On the spur of the moment Glenn Tilbrook decided to protest about government policy and deliberately changed the final couplet of the band’s song Cradle To The Grave. The incident sparked off a social media storm with 17,000 people tweeting about it.
Support on the tour comes from Nine Below Zero. Since their formation in 1977, the band have carved out a strong reputation as a live band, with The Crack magazine describing them as “one of the best blues bands in the country”. Their latest album 13 Shades Of Blue (2016) features a horn section, keyboards, violin and backing vocalists which Get Ready To Rock see as “them evolving into a full blown big band who tackle the kind of soulful, funk and blues related influences that have made them an enduring and cutting edge band.”
Tickets are on general sale on Friday 9th December from the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Box office.