Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, the Deptford songwriters behind “Up the Junction” and “Tempted”, play the largest headline shows of Squeeze’s fifty-year career.
Squeeze, whose writers were hailed as heirs to Lennon and McCartney, play The O2 arena in North Greenwich on Thursday 26 November 2026 on the Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour. Billy Bragg joins the bill as very special guest.
Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook founded the band in Deptford in March 1974, Difford writing the lyrics and Tilbrook the music. Jools Holland soon joined on keyboards, and the band grew out of a local scene that also produced Dire Straits.
Squeeze broke through in 1979 with Cool for Cats, whose title track and “Up the Junction” both reached number two. East Side Story followed in 1981, produced by Elvis Costello, with Paul Carrack singing “Tempted”.
The band split in 1982 and again in 1999. They marked fifty years with an anniversary tour in 2024, and Tilbrook is now a patron of Music Venue Trust, the charity for grassroots venues.
The new album, Trixies, released in March 2026, records songs Difford and Tilbrook wrote as teenagers in 1974. The O2 date is among the largest headline shows of their career, and the band collect food for the charity Trussell at every show.