Who are Squeeze and why are they important?

Squeeze are a British pop band formed in Deptford, London in 1974, best known for crafting some of the sharpest melodic pop songs of the late 1970s and 1980s — 'Up the Junction,' 'Cool for Cats,' 'Tempted,' 'Pulling Mussels (from the Shell).' The songwriting partnership of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford is frequently cited as one of the finest in British pop, sometimes compared to Lennon and McCartney for the balance of music and literary-quality lyrics.

What is Trixies by Squeeze?

Trixies is a full-length rock opera that Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford wrote in 1974, when they were teenagers — before Squeeze had even properly formed. The piece was recorded as a demo but shelved because the band weren't technically accomplished enough to play it well. The tape sat in a box for over fifty years. It was rediscovered and officially released in March 2026, making it one of the longest gaps between composition and release in rock history.

Did Trixies influence Britpop?

The narrative around Trixies suggests that the melodic ambition and literary wordplay Tilbrook and Difford encoded in it at 17 became the DNA of everything Squeeze subsequently wrote — and the Squeeze catalogue was one of the primary influences on the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Bands like Blur, Pulp, and early Elastica have all cited Squeeze as formative. In that sense, the unreleased teenage rock opera sits at the root of an entire branch of British pop.

The Songs They Couldn't Play

Genre: new wave, Britpop, Squeeze, 1970s, 1980s, unreleased

February 24, 2026

Two teenagers wrote a rock opera they weren't good enough to play — shelved it, accidentally invented Britpop, and found the tape fifty-two years later

Tracks

1. Up The Junction — Squeeze
2. Cool For Cats — Squeeze
3. Tempted — Squeeze
4. Black Coffee In Bed — Squeeze
5. Hourglass — Squeeze
6. End of a Century — Blur
7. Mis-Shapes — Pulp
8. Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) — Squeeze
9. Annie Get Your Gun — Squeeze

Read the full story on UpTune →