Chris Difford began writing songs at the age of 17 and went on to form one of the most beloved UK rock bands in Squeeze.
Now, after 50 years in the business, he’s identified where modern songwriters are going wrong.
Famed for their nostalgic hits including Up The Junction, Cool for Cats and Labelled with Love, Squeeze are an emblem of 1970s new wave rock n’ roll – but unlike some, they’re still going strong in 2024.
As Squeeze’s founding member, singer and songwriter, Chris formed the band in 1974 alongside his teenage friend Glen Tilbrook.
While their earliest line-up included Jools Holland on keys, Harry Kakouli on bass and Paul Gunn on drums, Chris and Glen are still touring the UK this month and next, having opened Glastonbury Festival this year.
It’s fair to say Chris has seen and learnt a lot in his five decades in the business – and he thinks there’s a missing ingredient in songwriting these days that the 70s and 80s had in buckets.
‘Nowadays there’s something for everybody, but there was a more lyrical content to songwriting in those days that interested me and I feel that subsided,’ he tells .
‘Apart from a band like the Blossoms, for instance – whose lyrics fascinate me, I think they’re brilliant – generally speaking, lyrics now are either over thought or they’re not genuine to me.
‘They’re kind of just there as part of the construct of writing a song, rather than the feeling of what a song can be.’
It’s hard to argue with his point. Especially when the stakes are so high, and the competition so fierce for young musicians now more than ever, it’s integral to stand out among skin-deep lyrical lines.
‘The music industry has changed incredibly. It’s gone from an industry that would encourage young bands to have a career and these days younger bands come and go so very quickly, unless they’re very special,’ says Chris.
While many find it hard to break through into the industry, those youngsters who do have other problems to face.
After the death of One Direction star Liam Payne at the age of just 31, many have called for better protections for young musicians grappling with fame.
‘There are charities that help musicians – not the music industry as a whole -although they do support the charities in some small way sometimes,’ Chris says, on whether further protection for young musicians is needed.
‘I think it’s very difficult to put your arm around everybody, because everybody has different needs.
‘It must be very difficult for a young man or a woman to come into the industry at such a young age and be swept off their feet and be the biggest thing that there is, because you don’t know what to do with that.
‘Suddenly your parents become unimportant, and your audience become your focus, and that sometimes isn’t really the reality of life.
‘I feel for people that need to reach out, and hopefully some of the work that I’ve been doing with Music Minds Matter, which is a part of Help Musicians, will help being there for people to reach out to.’
While Chris’ most famous work is with Squeeze, he’s also released solo albums, and fronts his own podcast – I Never Thought It Would Happen (a nod to his own lyrics) – in which he interviews musicians about the highs and lows of their career.
One thing strikes Chris about most of the musicians he chats to.
‘Everybody that I speak to, pretty much has always come from the same place, from the back of the class, not being understood, not being listened to, writing poetry at a young age, trying to get noticed,’ he says.
‘I think the music industry is a fantastic place for the silent creative to become heard.
‘It’s a really wonderful industry for people to be in, if you’re willing to bear the cost of the highs and lows.’
For Chris, his career high is also his low.
‘For me touring comes at a price. There are moments when I feel it’s a very lonely place to be and yet you’re on stage surrounded by thousands and a band you love,’ he says.
‘The highs are obviously the way you get to enjoy those moments. They say the stage can be a doctor, or a therapist in some ways getting you to stand on your own two feet and get through the highs and the lows.
‘But after 50 years of being in the same kind of construct, it can be tiring.’
But a lifetime in the music industry has taught Chris a lot about gratitude: he carved out a career with his childhood friend and is still going 50 years on. That’s something to be proud of.
Squeeze are touring the UK in October and November 2024. Get tickets via their website.