How Squeeze’s “Play” saved my life
RIYL: Watching people bare their souls for all the world to see, risking abject humiliation in the process
I have not done many interviews in my time as senior editor for Bullz-Eye.com – certainly not in comparison to my good friend and colleague Will Harris, who does roughly six million interviews a year – and yet, there aren’t that many people left that I am dying to talk to. I interviewed boyhood idol John Taylor in 2005 (big story behind that one, which you can find here), and have picked off members of Blur, the Kaiser Chiefs, Hard-Fi and Depeche Mode along the way. The only three big ones left on my list were Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, and Bryan Ferry.
I scratched one of them off the list yesterday. Glenn Tilbrook was doing press to promote Squeeze’s new album Spot the Difference – which the band readily admits was made for licensing purposes so they can rake in a little extra cash from soundtrack supervisors and advertisers – which meant I had the opportunity to tell him something I’ve wanted to tell him for a long time: that Squeeze’s 1991 album Play saved my life.
Here’s the back story: I was involved in a tempestuous relationship with a girl who was under tremendous pressure from her parents to stop seeing me. And, wanting to please her parents and therefore make life easier, she started to listen to them, even after I had moved cross-country to be with her. Finally, I gave up, and made plans to move to Boston with my brother. I was working at a record store before I left, and they had a promo copy of Play. Since the people who frequented the suburban mall that housed the record store had no interest in Squeeze, the manager let me take it home. Home at the time was a flea-infested apartment I shared with some older guy. It was not where the heart is, which is why this album proved to be a massive source of comfort.
There seemed to be a song on the album for each emotion I was feeling at any given moment, with a lyric to match. “Each day’s a hope, each day’s a prayer, that I’ll rebuild and I’ll repair,” from “There Is a Voice,” or the opening lines to “Crying in My Sleep,” which I would sing to myself while busing tables, one of my three jobs after landing in Boston: “Breaking up is breaking my heart and showing me the door / But if I get it open, I’ll discover that there’s much more to life than this.” Even for the songs that weren’t an exact match to my situation, there was a vibe to it that resonated with me. I needed to feel better about myself. Play helped me do that.
Flash-forward 19 years, and I’m having a Skype chat with Tilbrook, who’s vacationing in the south of England after finishing what he calls the best tour of the States he’s ever done. And I lay it all on the line.
BE: On a personal note, you should know that Play basically saved my life.
GT: (Stunned) Wow.
BE: I was going through a hellacious breakup, and that album was extremely comforting to me. I know it didn’t sell a lot of records, but I’m so glad you guys made it.
GT: You know, a man who’s subsequently become my best friend said exactly the same thing to me! He was going through a divorce at that same time, and said, “Play, it just got me through.” Wow, that is really weird. What a weird coincidence. ‘Cause not that many people heard the record anyway, and that’s one of our best records, I think.
Here’s the thing I wanted to mention, but obviously don’t have the data to back up: I find it highly unlikely that Glenn’s friend and I are the only ones who were saved by this album. Is there anyone else out there who found solace, and ultimately rebirth, in these songs? It can’t be only me and this other guy…can it?
Back me up here, people. Does anyone else have the emotional connection to Play that I have? Let’s hear your stories in the comment section.
Lastly, thank you Glenn (and Chris) for writing such moving songs, and for being a great interview. Can’t wait to hear the new material you’re working on. Oh, and as a post-script, I ended up getting back together with the girl in question and dating her for another few years, and in following her to Chicago, I met the woman who would become my wife. It took a little longer than I hoped, but I got that door open after all.
Squeeze MySpace page
Click to buy Play from Amazon
Click to buy Spot the Difference from Amazon
Very cool story. Music can be an incredibly powerful force. Glad you made it through and got to tell one/half of one of the better songwriting tandems of the last 30 years.
Excellent post. I love to read things about the band written by true fans. Play hasn’t saved my life…at least not yet…but it is my favorite of their records, for many reasons. Glad the music was such a comfort to you, and that you got to tell the man himself.
I can’t claim that Squeeze’s “Play” helped me in the way that you’ve described. I did go through a bad breakup around the time that this disc was released, and I did listen to it a great deal during the rough times after the breakup. But I suspect that my repeated listenings were based on the fact that this is Squeeze’s finest record. It is not a typical Squeeze disc (not that there is anything wrong with the typical Squeeze disc). The musical territory covered is different than the more pop-oriented offerings that they are known for (and that they do very well, BTW), which is probably why it didn’t sell very well with their fanbase. I know many felt the follow-up to this album, “Some Fantastic Place”, is a better record, but I completely disagree. “Play”, IMO, is one of the finest recordings of the past 20 years.
For anyone reading this that does not own “Play”, do yourself a favor and track it down. It is that good. They don’t make discs like this anymore, for the most part, which is a shame.
Some Fantastic Place doesn’t hold a candle to Play. It’s a nice record, but Play is truly one of Squeeze’s best. That and Argybargy are my favorites.
If I were forced at gunpoint to rank the top 5 Squeeze discs, it would probably look like this:
1. Play
2. Argy Bargy
3. Eastside Story
4. Sweets from a Stranger
5. Frank
A lot of great tunes in just those five discs.
I have to admit to having a huge soft spot for Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti.
I’ll admit that the first time I listened to CFTF it didn’t do much for me. But it grew on me, to the point where I would place it #6 or #7 on the list. Probably another Squeeze disc that wouldn’t be viewed as the typical Squeeze offering, like “Play”. Conversely, I liked “Some Fantastic Place” a fair amount when it first came out, but it has faded as the years have passed. Some good songs at the start of the disc, but the second half falls a bit flat.