You can imagine the scene. Teenagers Glenn Tillbrook and Chris Gifford are riffling through an old cardboard box in the attic. Nothing much here… but what’s this? Glenn brushes a few decade’s worth of dust off a cassette, snaps it into the player, presses PLAY… and the years melt away. The two are transported back in time to when they wrote their first set of songs about a fictional nightclub called Trixies, inspired by the tales of Damon Runyon. With Squeeze approaching their 50th anniversary, the time felt right to finally release them.
At the time of composing Trixies, Chris Difford was 19 and Glenn Tilbrook just 16. In 1974 the musical vision of the young creators exceeded their virtuosity. Chris explains: “We fully committed ourselves to songwriting but this was three or four years before we even got to make our first record. Long story short, these were songs that we just didn’t have enough musical experience to record properly.”
Recording these undiscovered songs has been a real labour of love, helped by the production skills of Squeeze’s bassist Owen Biddle. As for the lyrics, I wouldn’t dream of sharing my teenage burblings with even my best friend, so I have to hand it to Chris and Glenn for being brave and leaving most of the lyrics intact. While there are still one or two cringey moments, the duo handle their teenage material with sensitivity and maturity.
It is a pleasure getting to know and appreciate these early songs that showcase their vision and songwriting skills. Chris Difford’s innate ability to evoke striking visual imagery comes to fore as he introduces Trixies’ cast of dreamers and dealers. Sensitivity and insight are traits that he has carried throughout his songwriting career, as in Labelled With Love.
Opening track What More Can I Say is the scene setter, capturing the club in the morning light as weary staffs clear up after clear up after another drama-filled night.
What follows is one of the strongest compositions on the album: You Get the Feeling – a gorgeously lush ballad with soulful vocals and instrumentation that allows Glenn’s vocals to shine. Chris comments: “The original version of You Get The Feeling was more like an old blues song. It took me 50 years to figure out how to do it justice!”
The mood darkens with the bluesy, sinister Don’t Go Out in the Dark, evoking a crime scene on “one of those Victorian nights you won’t see any more.”
The nightclub in question gets its fair share of seedy characters and the duo don’t shy away from describing the dehumanising environment for its female entertainers in The Dancer. Cue the icy Hammer Horror organ opening notes as the dancer, fists clenched, enters the stage to silence, while “every eye of every man” turns towards her.
The influences are wide-ranging: Sparks-style swagger and pomp surface in Hell on Earth and Why Don’t You, a boppy feel of Marc Bolan on The Jaguars. Good Riddance opens with a woozy texture that, to contemporary ears, recalls Panda Bear, before it settles into something closer to Steely Dan.
Trixies Part 2 sashays in to close the album on a euphoric note, saxophone trills punctuating the chorus, as the nightclub rolls on to face another day.
No doubt Trixies was a highly entertaining old-Soho style club in which to while away the early hours until you were turfed out. Short of stepping through its doors, this fascinating and fun album feels like the next best thing.
Trixies Tracklisting:
What More Can I Say
You Get The Feeling
The Place We Call Mars
Hell On Earth
The Dancer
Good Riddance
Don’t Go Out In the Dark
Why Don’t You
Anything But Me
It’s Over
The Jaguars
Trixies (Part One)
Trixies (Part Two)
Trixies by Squeeze: release date 6th March
Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour see www.squeezeofficial.com for ticket links