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Annie Zaleski and the spectacular rise of MTV
469 Plays1 year ago
Journalist, author and critic Annie Zaleski is as enjoyable as they come when the topic is Squeeze. As a polymath in the music community, she demonstrates an affinity for our subject matter: MTV, Music Television. Hopscotching from lip-synced videos to full-on concerts, we recall with humor the fond memories those times represented and the moonshot culture that propels Squeeze (along with Duran Duran) to actively participate in crafting a new frontier in today’s hard-to-categorize music community.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:06
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to Cool for Cats with me, Annie Hughes. We're inviting you
Annie Zaleski's Musical Background
00:00:11
Speaker
in for black coffee and a chat about our favorite band Squeeze. In this episode, I'm welcoming journalist and author, Annie Zaleski. Hello, Annie. How are you? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
00:00:24
Speaker
Absolutely. You
Squeeze in the 90s Alternative Scene
00:00:26
Speaker
have had an extremely storied background just in regards to the fact that there's a category that we all remember and love called alternative. And despite the fact that Squeeze was categorized for quite a few years back in their earliest incarnations,
00:00:47
Speaker
with new wave slash alternative, I thought maybe you might sort of give your background as to how you started, how you came into the musical background of Squeeze. That's such a good question. And I've been thinking about this because I
00:01:13
Speaker
I came of age in the 90s and as I told people, in hindsight, one of the things that has been most interesting to me that I feel very lucky about is that during the 90s, I used that loosely, there was alternative radio or modern rock radio had a resurgence. It was building before Nirvana
00:01:37
Speaker
you know took off in nineteen ninety one ninety two but it really just sort of exploded you know with alternative you know i got whenever i use alternative i'm using that in air quotes alternative culture things like lala palooza and things like that and
00:01:53
Speaker
I distinctly remember listening to a lot of these with the alternative radio. They paired a lot of the new modern music that was coming out in the 1990s with 80s music and with the, as you kind of said, loosely new waves, synth pop, alternative music, you know, kind of the stuff maybe you weren't hearing on top 40 stations, the stuff you really weren't hearing.
00:02:15
Speaker
on mainstream rock stations. And Squeeze is one of those bands. And so you would hear Squeeze, you would hear all of their kind of 80s hits on specialty shows, flashback retro shows, every so often you'd hear them in regular rotation. And I distinctly remember seeing the video, I think it was
00:02:35
Speaker
You know, there was this weird like video, I don't even remember. It was like, I don't know if it was the box or it was this, you know, like other like weird cable channel. It wasn't MTV. I don't know if it was even like a specialty show. I have no idea. But I also remember seeing squeeze music videos there. Like I remember seeing the other nail in my heart video there. And I think that that's like the biggest one I remember. And Annie, get your gun as well.
00:03:02
Speaker
And it was so
Influence of MTV on Squeeze's Popularity
00:03:03
Speaker
weird because it's like, that was, you know, that's obviously for Squeeze fans, that's a huge song, but for Americans, that's not, those aren't necessarily the like, Squeeze songs they know. So I, you know, really became aware of Squeeze then and then like, you know, and then I remembered, you know, as a kid growing up, that I totally remember it when Babylon and On hit in America, Hourglass, I definitely heard that on the radio. And in hindsight, as an adult, I'm like, I remember that now, you know, I have some vague childhood memories. So,
00:03:32
Speaker
I mean, more or less, they've always sort of been omnipresent in my life, I guess, in a sense. And it's weird because I came to like the different areas of squeeze at different times in a sense. So it wasn't a very sort of linear discovery, I guess you would say. And it was a very long answer, so I apologize.
00:03:49
Speaker
No apologies needed because that's how much we like this band, love this band. The interesting part about all of that is you were heavily involved of course in the alternative scene back in the 90s. Let's have you give a little bit of a background on that.
00:04:07
Speaker
Yeah, and it's funny because that was when I was a kid, that was all I listened to. And, you know, it was alternative music. And, you know, the nice thing about that, I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, you know, and so like, I've told a story several times, but we had a really awesome
00:04:23
Speaker
library, like our town library had, whoever was buying the music for it had really great taste in music. So you could get like these very cool, like, you know, I could go to the library and take out the Velvet Underground in Nico. I could go to the library and, you know, they had their vintage Kraftwerk cassette from the 70s. They didn't get rid of it. You could still take it out. You could get early REM there. And so you could take out all of these
00:04:49
Speaker
you know, formative records. And so I had this kind of, you know, so and this was before, you know, the internet was starting to become home internet was starting to become a thing. And so but it really wasn't very, you know, it wasn't very common yet. And so it was one of those things where it's like, well, how do you discover new music? How do you discover this alternative music? We had a really great radio station, a mainstream
00:05:12
Speaker
alternative radio station we have really awesome college radio stations in cleveland too we had three or four that were always playing these interesting sounds i would listen to them all the time you know i go to record stores and just kind of you know what i had the money buy some stuff that you know i was really interested in i heard on the radio that i want to hear more and i'm
00:05:35
Speaker
and you'll get stuff out of the library. And that's how I sort of discovered this music. Oh, and music magazines, duh, of course, as a writer. And so I would read magazines that I could, but all this quote unquote, I think alternative music, because it was sort of having a mainstream moment, it was actually accessible. It wasn't like maybe in the eighties where you had to have a zine or you had to have a friend who knew about it. There were actually ways that the stuff kind of filtered through, even if you lived in like the suburbs of a town that
00:06:05
Speaker
was pretty square where everyone liked Grateful Dead and everyone like Dave Matthews Band. I was not necessarily a fan of those bands. And so it was sort of like, where's my space? Where do I fit in? And so the alternative scenes sort of just spoke to me, I guess.
00:06:20
Speaker
Yeah, and that was also the scene that I was actually writing about back then as well. And the interesting part in regards to Squeezes, not a lot of those bands were referencing them. I think by that time, they were all the sort of bright shiny or shoegazing Brit Pop bands that I was talking to who just felt they were God's gift to the world. And they just wanted to,
00:06:49
Speaker
dig their own avenue and not have to worry about bands that had sold out, quote-unquote, like The Police, who had actually started off really as a very small band, you know, sort of a la Squeeze, not as pubby as the word suggests. But when you think back to that, they obviously had won up because of bands
00:07:13
Speaker
like Squeeze. And we had been talking before the podcast about, well, what was, what avenue, what outlet did Squeeze have that a lot of other bands didn't have that they could make an impression on? And that, of course, was MTV. So what was your immediate response to MTV and how early did you get it? Because they started off in August of 1981.
00:07:43
Speaker
It's funny because I've been having some conversations recently in that, so because the whole thing about MTV is that the suburbs got it first. This was like, you know, in sort of a, you know, the whole conventional wisdom is that if you're in a big city, you're gonna all, the cool stuff, the cool fashion, the cool concerts and everything. MTV really upended that. And so it was the suburbs that got it first. And so I know I grew up in a suburb that actually was wired for MTV.
00:08:13
Speaker
And my parents, it's funny, my parents recently told me, yeah, we had a friend, and he worked for the cable company, so he showed us how we can get all the channels. So I was like, oh, well, that makes sense why we had HBO so early then. All right, I totally get that. So obviously, maybe we were pirating cable, I'm guessing, so 40 years ago. And I think we had MTV, but I think my parents blocked it, which is extremely funny because they're not necessarily uptight people.
00:08:39
Speaker
They're actually pretty cool with it people. My dad texted me to let me know Depeche Mode was on Colbert the other night, so he really keeps up with stuff. For whatever reason, I didn't know this until recently that they blocked it, which is very funny. We must have had it, but I didn't have access to it. I have vague memories though of in the late 80s, potentially seeing a George Michael video.
00:09:04
Speaker
And then, you know, by the time I hit like the early 90s, you know, my parents didn't care, you know, the cable had evolved. And so I was like probably starting about 1992. Yeah, about 1992, I was heavily into MTV and pretty much 92 until I went off to college in the late 90s. And I didn't really have cable anymore regularly. I had it in like dorm room, you know, common areas. But I was heavily, heavily into MTV.
00:09:32
Speaker
And VH1 too, to a certain extent. And they were, you know, they played some overlap, you know, some not. VH1 played, were the 80s videos and the retro videos. So I happened to like, you know, I like them at certain times too.
00:09:45
Speaker
But like I loved alternative nation. I loved 120 minutes. I would tape 120 minutes. I still have my VHS tapes of that because, and that was at midnight on Sunday. And so we were able to kind of access that. So that was sort of like my entry to MTV, you know, and it's funny in hindsight to think about that, like, there was some stuff, MTV in the 80s, there was definitely some risque stuff on there, some stuff that you're like, yeah, you don't want like a, you know, a child to be watching this.
00:10:12
Speaker
Some of the other stuff that I think that people got so upset about back then looks a lot tamer now, but it's funny because you can kind of go both ways with that. It was also definitely an outlet for a lot of those
00:10:28
Speaker
I'm going to call them like the early versions of alternative bands. Totally. Because if they had a really weird video, like what was that band that did Fish Heads? Oh, Barnes and Barnes. Right. Where the heck are you going to play that on any
00:10:47
Speaker
you know, sort of semi mainstream station in America. No, you're going to have this wacky visual, you know, with, of course, that sort of hyped up chipmunk kind of vocal playing endlessly on MTV. And we actually got MTV in December of 81.
00:11:10
Speaker
And I was very puzzled by it. I was a senior in high school, so I'll date myself right there, and it just appeared. Like you said, I was in a suburb, living in a suburb of Boston, and it just kind of appeared. I even remember the channel number. It was channel 10.
00:11:29
Speaker
and so it was fairly low you know on the on the cable number system and it just kind of appeared and then it disappeared and there were like these huge huge chunks of empty space and you wonder did did did the channel go off the air or something or what was going on of course i learned out years later that you know well no there was no advertising
00:11:53
Speaker
And gradually then, the in-house people at Warner had their own self-promotion pieces. And then, of course, as it got more and more popular, you had people like Sting and Hall & Oates all doing those promos for the station itself. So back then,
00:12:14
Speaker
you know, you and I now knowing the history, what did they have to play? So they had all of these, I think it was really funny, I was just reading Lars Ulrich from Metallica saying, there were these really weird English bands with funny haircuts. I think one of them might've been Squeeze. And they had been producing videos before 81. So I guess one of their big ones that looked more like a video was another nail in my heart. Would you agree?
00:12:44
Speaker
Absolutely. Yep. And that probably struck a chord with a lot of people because there was so little to play as far as music videos were concerned that those type of videos kept being played over and over and over and over again. So they weren't the one, they weren't the top 100 I believe that were played on launch day, but eventually
00:13:07
Speaker
by 1981, you started to have Tempted being placed out there. And this is the mind stage version, not the version with mops, if you're familiar with that. You're familiar with that version. Well, and that's what's so funny is that, and you're right in hindsight, because I think I'm like you, that I've kind of, you know, now in hindsight gone back and like researched. It was like, what was MTV kind of like, you know, back and like, what was reality in terms of what they were playing?
00:13:35
Speaker
And what I've learned is that the British bands were the ones making videos because there was such a culture of music video at that time. They needed videos to put on top of the pops if they were touring. If they couldn't travel, they had videos they could send out to people. And obviously with the Beatles and the Stones, there was such a culture of video even dating back to that.
00:13:59
Speaker
So they were like so far ahead of Americans in terms of making fun videos and making videos that were like, you know, entertaining. And then we're also kind of innovative and groundbreaking. And American bands just weren't making videos. And so MTV was desperate for content. So they had all these great British bands. And so that happened to be like, here you go here, you know, here we are.
00:14:21
Speaker
And, you know, and it's funny because you're right, because I looked up and I'm like, okay, well, Squeeze wasn't played the first day, but Split Ends was. Like, I think they had three or four different videos on the first day. They just had so much content that was there. And like all of these, like, you know, weird bands and, but like, but you're right, but Squeeze, and this is, I wish I'd been, I've been looking, you know, there's very little like, you know, VCR video people taped from the very, very earliest MTV.
00:14:51
Speaker
I think a lot of people, you know, tape the first day and kind of retroactively when they've rerun the first day, people tape that. There's like an August 28, 1981 MTV air check or video check that's around. And there's one from November of 81. And those are like the very earliest, earliest ones that are out there. And
00:15:11
Speaker
It's so interesting watching those because even from, you know, it advanced even so far from like the very first day even. But you're right, Squeeze got airplay. And, you know, I found doing book research that in like in weird places that by October, there was a record store in Tulsa that said because of MTV, they were selling Squeeze records. And that blew my mind. It was like Billy Squire and the tubes and Squeeze.
00:15:37
Speaker
because they were getting airplay on MTV. And that's so wild to me, just because it was like, well, that was, you know, you think about how fast of an impact it had. That was just two months on the air. And they were already having, you know, helping bands like Squeeze, who were, you know, I think pretty much a cult band at, you know, at the time, even, even though they've been around for so many years in the UK, that just, you know, still kind of bubbling under. So I just thought that was cool.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. In fact, it was, I think here's the really, you know, weird thought. I was just, I was just reminding myself that it wasn't only bands that hadn't really even been able to get any airplay or were not that well known.
00:16:22
Speaker
that were surviving on MTV for exposure, but they were being played along all of the mainstream acts and sort of elder statesmen like Rod Stewart. He had like a lot of videos available. And I'm trying to think, you know, Pat Benatar was like the second video I think that was played.
00:16:47
Speaker
on MTV. There were a lot of music concerts that could be chopped up. One of the big ones was the concerts for Camp Chia, which had happened in Christmas time of 1979. And there were a lot of legacy acts playing, including Wings and The Who and
00:17:09
Speaker
Nick Lowe and rock pile. So they were kind of chopping up those pieces and promoting them. And it's not even that you had to go that far back. I mean, they didn't have to play Bohemian Rhapsody, but they decided that all of these British
00:17:27
Speaker
Musicians and artists had You know for want of a better word you and I can say all right They they had what they had so let's put it in between all of these bigger bands that that were already well established because basically it's all we've got How do you can you kind of like give me your viewpoint on that? I mean is it just so that's all we've got and we'll just fit them in or do you see it now?
00:17:56
Speaker
Nowadays is like, that was such a lucky break to happen at that time.
00:18:03
Speaker
It is, it is very,
Differences in Video Styles: Squeeze vs. Duran Duran
00:18:05
Speaker
in hindsight, it is very funny because you do, you're right. You have these like, you know, live videos by REO Speedwagon or live videos by Journey, who are these like massive arena bands that have a very kind of specific musical sound. And then you'll have a block of like squeeze and shoes and you know, classics nouveau and all of these sounds that like the videos are very different and the, and the sound is very different.
00:18:33
Speaker
And in hindsight, it works. In a weird way, it works because it sounds like, okay, this sounds very 1981. But it was very lucky for these younger bands that they had these videos when MTV needed it. I think music was changing too. I think after punk, people were looking for something different. I think
00:18:57
Speaker
You know, when you when you kind of look at, you know, and I think you could say that in the late 70s, it had started to change with, you know, Blondie and Gary Newman had a hit in America and an M had a hit in America. And so, you know, kind of after disco was sort of waning in popularity and after
00:19:13
Speaker
you know, you know, kind of rock was sort of, you know, getting a little bit stagnant. People were looking for something different because it had been, you know, they were looking for new sounds or something a little bit modern because it was the 80s and things were futuristic and things like that.
00:19:29
Speaker
And so it was very fortuitous that these bands kind of came in. But I think what also was squeezed is that, you know, in hindsight, you listen to them and obviously, you know, they have, they're such their unique sound or their distinct sound, but they're such a classic, you know, bent to their sound. You know, you can hear so much more, you know, the Beatles influences and just, you know, obviously they were, you know, contemporaries of Elvis Costello, but just very thoughtful songwriting. And like, you can kind of hear
00:19:58
Speaker
you know, tempted with soul and Motown. It's like, you can hear kind of why they fit in with the American bands too, just because they were very, you know, they, I think this happens with a lot of bands, like you mentioned the police, you know, the police were seen as these like, weird, renegade punks when they first came to America. Now we would think of that and be like, really? Okay, you know, because their music is just so good. I think it's very similar with Squeeze is that maybe, you know, music that sounded just so like, renegade at the time, like you hear now,
00:20:28
Speaker
you know, where it fits in to what music was doing at the time. And it makes a lot of sense why Squeeze was able to connect with bigger audiences at that time, too. Because their music was very, you know, it fit in. It worked. And, you know, both on MTV. And MTV also liked quirky. And I think that's also what helped Squeeze a little bit, too, is that as much as our songs were kind of classic, their videos were very fun and kind of lighthearted and had a lot of personality. And, you know, people were sort of, I think,
00:20:57
Speaker
I think entertained by that and were sort of attracted to that too, because it was something different. It was definitely, you know, it was unfamiliar. It was kind of charming.
00:21:06
Speaker
Well, let me tap into your Duran Duran-ness because you are all things Duran. And this is definitely not a comparison to Squeeze, but I do remember that before they really broke, say with Rio and doing those exquisite
00:21:29
Speaker
basically, for want of a better word, like movies, you know, they had a bit of a strange kind of that sort of neo-Goth slash trying to be slightly David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust approach with planet Earth.
00:21:48
Speaker
and but in hindsight again that we can all talk about they escalated the sort of what was available to them for doing a music video and in essence helping them break in
00:22:06
Speaker
to, I would consider at that time, you know, non-radio-friendly music. They just, you know, they enlisted the help of, you know, a great director. Russell Mulcahy was just amazing and got the work that he got out of them. They looked great. They still do. And maybe, in fact, that was also another real difference
00:22:33
Speaker
Um, if we say, well, Squeeze didn't have that energy, uh, but they weren't that type of band. Whereas Duran did, you know, and harnessed, um, a lot of what was available for visual output. Your, your thoughts? Absolutely. And, you know, it's so funny because I think, you know, when I mentioned like the nineties, like alternative radio at that time,
00:22:58
Speaker
They would play Duran Duran and Squeeze in like the same hour because, you know, it was all quote unquote the eighties and it was sort of this like mishmash of alternative. But Duran and Squeeze had such, you know, as you know, they had the Beatles in common because I think it was impossible for British bands not to have the Beatles somewhere in their DNA, but they were so different. They were so Bowie. They were so Roxy music. They were so, you know, they loved Talking Heads. They loved disco and they were coming at it from such a different
00:23:26
Speaker
you know, different approach and they were okay with making those like little mini movies, you know, and they had, you know, Simon Le Bon was the lead singer who had an acting background, who loved the camera. It was really good at being in front of the camera. And I think that's another difference that a lot of those early videos is you see a lot of musicians who maybe, you know, didn't get into music to do films, who didn't get into music to do acting. They got into music to make creative work.
00:23:54
Speaker
And, you know, they were basically told you have to get in front of the camera, you got to like, you know, act. And a lot of people were very uncomfortable, especially early on, because there really wasn't that much of a playbook, especially in America. But Duran were always comfortable in front of the camera. And that made so much of a difference with their videos. And they were they were a little bit younger, too, you know, when they were, you know, the Rio era, they were all like 19 to 23. So they had a ton of energy. And so they were really, for
00:24:22
Speaker
You know, they were, it's funny because they weren't that much younger than Squeeze, but they were just a little bit of a generation younger that they were just a little bit more youth culture oriented and attracted more. I think kids were more attracted to them.
00:24:37
Speaker
The funny thing is, is that at one time, like this is like the show I wish I could time travel to see Duran Duran play with Squeeze and the Split Ends and Bush Tetras and Third World in Philadelphia on the Rio tour in June of 82. And like you look back in hindsight, you're like, that is such a strange bill.
00:24:56
Speaker
like it just it's because every all those bands were doing something a little bit different but that's how it kind of was at the time they were sort of like you know all right well you guys are different but we're just gonna put you on the bill anyway okay so it was such an interesting sort of
00:25:12
Speaker
People were trying to throw things at the wall to see what stuck too. And Duran had a little bit of that just because
Squeeze's Approach to Nostalgia and New Music
00:25:18
Speaker
they had ambitions and were like, well, no one's ever done this before. Let's see if this works. And Russell's videos were just, that's when you look at MTV kind of video checks now and you kind of see Hungry Like the Wolf come in.
00:25:33
Speaker
it's like heads and tails above everything else. You might have, I know there's one that's floating out there where you have a who video and it's kind of like bluish tinge and it's, you know, the band is kind of being very serious. And then you have Duran Duran come in and they're, you know, cavorting around Sri Lanka and having these like very Indiana Jones like videos. And it's just like, wow, okay. They've really made people have to step up their game. Well, here's another point that we're kind of jumping way, way, way ahead.
00:26:02
Speaker
In that, I've recalled that fairly recently, Glenn Tilbrook has said, we are not going to be a nostalgia act. We're not going to fall into these tours. Like some of the 80s and early 90s bands, say like New Kids on the Block or Going Out with Salt and Pepper, et cetera, et cetera.
00:26:24
Speaker
And it's amazing to think that they are still a touring entity, still a productive band that does not have to really incite that kind of memory as well as Duran. I mean, obviously,
00:26:42
Speaker
Duran made such an impression with the whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that can sometimes cause a little bit like, really? Come on, these guys. And then you have another sect of people are like, well, why isn't Squeeze being considered? But you're coming at it from these wildly, like you said, different cultures of the 80s can now be pushed together
00:27:06
Speaker
with Squeeze and Duran Duran and all those bands, but then you have another sect of nostalgia. You still want them to play real, but they don't, or Hungry like the Wolf or even Planet Earth, and they don't sound old. Am I wrong or is it just the chemistry?
00:27:26
Speaker
No, you're completely right. And, you know, and I love what you said that because, you know, in a way that even though Duran and Squeeze, you know, they've been, you know, they're both still out there touring and both kind of pushing ahead, you know, Duran as much as they've gotten the rock call and things like that. And, you know, their set list, they obviously have the hits. They can't get along, you know, they can't get out of the room without playing Rio. You know, I think people would riot.
00:27:50
Speaker
They're very forward-thinking as well. They don't like nostalgia as much as you would think. They put out a new record in 2021 and they had a very healthy mix of new songs within their sets. They're still kind of like an old-school band. It's like we put out a new record, we're going to go out and promote it.
00:28:12
Speaker
And Squeeze is so much like that. I mean, obviously when you go see Squeeze, they're going to do the songs people know and things like that. But I loved hearing, and this is I guess before the pandemic, when they put out the records, it was so nice to hear the new songs too, and they were so engaged by that as well. And so it's funny to think that however many years later, they're both two of the bands that are still doing that. They're still like, we're pushing forward, we're going to continue doing new things. If we're going to
00:28:40
Speaker
You know, because I know what you mean, especially in the UK, there's this, there's this culture of like, rewind festivals and flashback festivals, and it's very, you know, it's very much celebrating the past and they have a lot of artists who are, you know,
00:28:56
Speaker
I don't, they haven't put out new music in many, many years, basically. And, you know, it's funny cause Squeeze is actually playing a couple of those this year, which I was like, well, that's interesting. But I, I'm, you know, their set will probably be, you know, their way. So they'll have the sets, the hits people know, but also, you know, newer stuff. They kind of use those, even those opportunities of, Hey, we're with bands that have, you know, gone on nostalgia tours that we're going to do it our way.
00:29:22
Speaker
And Duran's very similar in terms of like, we're still pushing our new music. We're still engaged by that. That's what keeps us moving forward. You know, we're not ready to sort of just do the oldies circuit and call it a day.
00:29:33
Speaker
Here's another interesting viewpoint that I saw going to the gig that I did go to in 2021. Now, that was a standalone gig. They were touring with Hall & Oates, but they took a few outlier theater dates, and this is the one I saw them at. And the type of
00:29:53
Speaker
concert goer it's amazing it's still like you know 40 years ago or 35 years ago where they're still attracting that style of of person who thinks slightly outside the box in very intelligent and yet
00:30:11
Speaker
You've got them with the older crowd who wants to go in there and have a glass of wine and kick back and remember those older songs like Cool for Cats and Up the Junction, Goodbye Girl. But yet the level of attentiveness is very strange. So I wanted to ask you too, because I'm sure with your work
00:30:38
Speaker
and observing everything in such a large span of time with Duran Duran, what do you see as a concert goer? Do you see that sort of, oh my gosh, that kid that's going to this Duran Duran concert in 2022, 2023 is that same kid that went to the concerts in like 83, 84. What's your thought?
00:31:04
Speaker
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00:32:17
Speaker
your story. It's interesting because there's such a wide variety. And because you're right, you do have the people who saw them back in the day. And, you know, we'll talk about that. But it's funny because I've come across people who saw them back in the day
00:32:37
Speaker
And for whatever reason, haven't been able to see them again until like, you know, in the last few years, either coming up this year or last year, you know, whether that's, you know, because family took precedence or the band just didn't come near them or, you know, other reasons. And so you have a lot of people who have sort of, you know, were fans, the band could have coming back to them.
00:32:58
Speaker
And I've noticed that as well, too, that there's been a lot of people who, you know, liked them as a kid and maybe, you know, sort of lost touch with them and are sort of coming back to that. And so that's very interesting. But there's also, there's a really, really strong loyal contingent of fans who pretty much like a trans touring, you know, like, all right, we're there. And there, you know, they go up front, they travel with friends, they meet friends.
00:33:23
Speaker
And it's a very, you know, kind of strong like this is what we do. And, you know, it's funny because it's almost like, you know, it's almost like fandoms like you have, like, like Bruce Springsteen fandom, you know, my husband's in that and, you know, and I'm on the periphery as well.
00:33:39
Speaker
And it's like people go to concerts and meet up with their friends because it's a social thing. Everyone's watching the concert and everything, but they're using this excuse to like, I'm gonna hang out with my like-minded people. You see a lot of that as well. And it's been very cool because I've also heard a lot of parents taking their kids, their teenagers to shows and said, hey, I'm taking my son or daughter, they're 10, 12, 13, and we're going to our first show together.
00:34:05
Speaker
And there's a lot of that as well with Duran. And it's
Audience Evolution at Concerts
00:34:10
Speaker
very gratifying. We saw them in Chicago last year, and I saw an entire family of parents and I think a kid who maybe was in elementary school, and it was so cool. It's sort of like passing it down from generation to generation.
00:34:26
Speaker
You know, and I think my husband and I were, you know, he and I are the type, it's like, well, Drans touring, cool, we're gonna go to multiple shows, you know, because we're at the, you know, the stage for a life when we can, and especially post pandemic, it's like, you never know when bands are gonna come back again, you might as well go while you can. And so we tend to do that. But
00:34:43
Speaker
It's interesting to squeeze is a very interesting crowd, you know, because, you know, I've seen them in acoustic shows. I've seen them in, you know, theaters, I've seen them in. Yeah, I think those are probably like, you know, the two like major ones.
00:35:00
Speaker
And you definitely have the like the super fans who are, you know, who follow them around too. You have the people who, you know, have been seeing them for years and years and years. And it's very much like, this is what we do. I've also like, I, it's terrible, but like the acoustic show, I had some of the rudest people I've ever experienced at a show at the acoustic show here. They talked throughout it. This was, this was, um, Glenn and Chris's acoustic shows. They did. I can't remember the years exactly.
00:35:28
Speaker
And like, and like we told them to be quiet and they were so rude to me. It was like being in high school was like being mean girls. They were like, you know, they were giving me like a death stare when we're like, you know, this is an acoustic show, you know, please be quiet. And
00:35:43
Speaker
One of them at some point, and I think the second set, they encouraged crowd participation. And one of them came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder very pointedly. It's like, is this okay now? Can we say something? And I was so taken aback.
00:35:58
Speaker
Because it was just like, what are you doing here? It felt very, very unsqueezed-like. And I was like, why are you even here? It was very strange. It was very disheartening. Because when I've seen squeeze shows, that's not the type of fan that I usually see. It is people, like you said, who are very invested, who are happy to be there, who are a little bit more offbeat, and who are very excited about seeing the band.
00:36:25
Speaker
I have actually, I think might probably have been the same person you were dealing with, but at that gig in 2021, I had two younger women probably in their mid 30s who just wanted to party and drink and, you know, we're just kind of almost waiting for
00:36:45
Speaker
you know a slap and tickle or a cool for cats type of song so they could get up and dance and dance with each other and I'm not saying that I'm a prude and I just sit there and appreciate and clap you know thank you thank you you know it was it was kind of strange to to wander into an atmosphere like that
00:37:04
Speaker
as far as maybe there's more of a party atmosphere rather than, and I have seen Chris and Glenn as well acoustically, which was much that, you know, I have the flip side, everybody was so attentive and rabid, rabid about shouting out songs that they wanted them to play. So, but here's an interesting viewpoint is bringing in all of those generations
00:37:32
Speaker
to bands like them and even now into Elvis Costello who's playing again live. What is this situation with MTV as far as a touch point?
MTV's Impact on Music Discovery
00:37:46
Speaker
Kids nowadays are like, what's, my 17 year old, what's MTV? How do you explain that without sounding like an old grandma type person?
00:37:59
Speaker
It's funny because I don't think you can. And the way I tend to explain it, it's like, well, it's like YouTube, but what was on our TV. And so that's the closest thing I can get in terms of what it was. And I think, like we talked about a little bit earlier, that's the biggest difference, I think, is that you
00:38:23
Speaker
You can get any video now. You didn't have to sit by your TV and wait for it to come on or sit by your radio and wait for a song to come on or hope that the record store had the album that you wanted. There was patience involved and there was a payoff and things like that. Now you can literally just go and everything is pretty much online. And when something is not online, it's a surprise. When you can't hear something right away and have instant gratification, it's weird.
00:38:52
Speaker
So I mean, I think that's the biggest change. You know, it does feel like a relic. And that's what is so funny is that MTV, you know, when you tell people like, yeah, people would literally go to bars and, you know, watch MTV because they didn't have it at home. And they would just kind of sit there and watch it because it was such a phenomenon. The idea of watching your favorite artist, you know, rather than listening to the radio was such a novel concept and people were so mesmerized by it. Like it's
00:39:21
Speaker
It's hard to put that into words. It's hard to explain that to younger generations who did not, who grew up with such visuals and expecting that they'll be able to see their favorite band and things like that.
00:39:32
Speaker
Yeah, and you even mentioned that one of the ones, one of the sort of live gigs that is available, lately or not, we won't talk about that, we're not endorsing them anyway, is the gig that Squeeze did in 81 out in LA. And so they're kind of like, and it was promoted by MTV and their famous weekend concert series.
00:40:00
Speaker
So this is like a straightforward, you know, no holds bar. This is what you would have gotten of Squeeze in the summer of 81 or so. Now Paul Carrick is now in the band in this set. And it was kind of a very, it's weird, it's straightforward, but it's almost like it's in a bar because it's so hot and sweaty considering it's July.
00:40:25
Speaker
But there's this heat that's being given off. And it's interesting that they can contain that within just an hour or so's worth of video and then broadcast it. So I want you to kind of like this is the one that you said you're kind of obsessed with. And what do you what how would you describe it? I mean, I think that's such a good description of it because I mean, it's
00:40:54
Speaker
because you're right it was aired on MTV and they like they I found on YouTube too they have the like touting like you know world premiere premiere it's a squeeze and it's a multi-camera shoot it's a really nice shoot too they have fans and they have the band and you really do feel like you're at the show and it's so funny because it's it is like squeeze like
00:41:17
Speaker
You know, I mean, I think fans can, you know, I don't, I mean, you can look at different areas of the band and you can say, you know, I like this era better or that era better. But I also feel like that that era of the band was such a good era too, because I don't want to like play favorites or anything like that. But I just feel like just in terms of, you know, 19, you know, it was filmed in 81.
00:41:38
Speaker
And the band had been touring and recording and they were just, they had really just been building up to being a really tight band at that point. And you can see that and you can just really feel that. And I mean, I think it also helped that it was in LA because LA, you know, even though we talked about MTV was in suburbs, you know, LA was always such a hotbed for, you know, quote unquote alternative bands because of K-Rock and
00:42:02
Speaker
all these other radio stations, you know, they had a good crowd too. You know, I think if you're like in America and you're a band from England, if you're playing New York or LA, you're going to get a good reception, you know. And so that, you know, that also helped too. And just like their set list, like if you look at it, like, you know, granted they play a lot of the songs, like, you know, when you look at kind of the set list now, it's shocking that they have over the years, a lot of the songs that are sort of, that were in there,
00:42:29
Speaker
are still in the set list but it's like you know obviously it was all the singles you know you know Another Nail My Heart, Take Me I'm Yours, If I Didn't Love You and things like that but in Cool 4 Cats but in Quintessence you have Labeled With Love and I Think I'm Go-Go like it's it's a great set list too it's like everything you would want from Squeeze of that era was there
00:42:51
Speaker
And he did a cover, too. I mean, granted, he didn't make love in the morning. And Far Feast of Beat was just like, what the heck? It was like cramming 50 pounds of potatoes in like a Ziploc bag. It was just the emotion and it was just crazy. It was just crazy, you know?
00:43:13
Speaker
It really and like you know you see why at that era also that like squeeze did start to get some kind of traction in America, just because you know they were a really good band at that era they were just really like they were just on it because, you know, and I mean like Paul Carrick, you know.
00:43:32
Speaker
It's funny because people always forget that Paul had such a long career. He already had hits by the time he was in Squeeze. He had had hits with Ace in the 70s. He had just such a great pedigree too that he was in the band at that point. It's interesting because chemistry
00:43:54
Speaker
You know, in bands, it's so delicate. And when you swap people in and out, you never know how it's going to work. And for whatever reason, like squeeze at that point, it just, it all worked. It was just so good.
00:44:06
Speaker
Now, in contrast to that gig, which was filmed, you know, and then shown sometime in 81, fast forward to Squeeze at Daytona Beach in break 1988. Now, I have no problem talking about Squeeze on stage already, but looking at that gig, which I just rewatched a couple of days ago,
00:44:30
Speaker
I was so thrilled to be able to see them because I actually saw them like a couple of days before that gig. I had gone to see them in Springfield, Massachusetts. So now here you have them at Daytona Beach. First off, just kind of give me, I'm assuming you've seen this, so just kind of give me a roll on this take. So it's
00:44:53
Speaker
MTV and just like for just for like, because I don't you know, this is another one of those weird things we tell kids now I think they'd be horrified. So MTV would like, say it's spring break right go to Florida and they would just book all of these concerts and events. And it was basically all these drunk college kids and like just completely out of their minds.
00:45:13
Speaker
you know, wearing swimsuits, wearing, you know, you're barely wearing clothing, and they would book bands, but it wouldn't be like bands you would think like, you know, let's play some party bands. They had like, Crowded House wearing like first record wearing their like, you know, their, their
00:45:31
Speaker
decorated suits. I believe they booked till Tuesday. Like all of these incongruous bands in the 90s, they booked first album Radiohead, who looked like that they were like, they're like, what are we doing here? Sitting by the pool. And that's the other thing is that all these bands were by pools. And so it was like by the ocean. And so it was this very weird thing. And here in 1988, you have Squeeze, who is coming off some of their biggest US success
00:45:55
Speaker
at the time, so that's probably why they were booked there in their suits, in Daytona Beach, like playing to all these like drunk college kids. And it's hilarious in hindsight, but it's also, but they sound great. I mean, that's the whole thing is that, you know, for whatever reason, you know, they were kind of like, well, it's a gig, sure, let's do it. And it's hilarious. And so, you know, it's hot, you know, they're, I'm sure it's like completely miserable.
00:46:21
Speaker
And here they are playing all their hits on Daytona Beach. It's great. It's high comedy, but it's also awesome. Yeah, especially the reactions because of the kids, the drunken kids, because that is so spring breaky looking. Exactly. Yeah, you're right. They're literally at the oceanfront. And having been to Daytona Beach, not during spring break, I know what that's like.
00:46:51
Speaker
I found it hysterical again too and I mean we're not making fun of them I promise you know you both and I were you and I were saying no no we're not laughing at Squeeze we're laughing with Squeeze um to watch Jules first he played he had like two solo things in the middle of it in the heat of the night which was again very strange but he played it beautifully
00:47:13
Speaker
And then he did Great Balls of Fire, which seemed a bit more appropriate, which everybody seemed to get up and go for. And then Glenn kind of at the very end did this whole weird thing where he talked to everybody about how they wanted to join the band. Were they going to jump or were they going to
00:47:32
Speaker
compartmentalize and have everybody do backup and everybody chose jumping. So, I mean, you know, they got into the spirit of it. It was like how you said, though, very strange. It was just very, very surrealistic. Nowadays, you look back at it.
00:47:53
Speaker
That's a story I should do someday, is talk to people and be like, how did you get booked on that? Did your label book that? Did your booking agent book that? Because obviously someone thought, well, this would be a really good opportunity for you to get in front of people. And in reality, it probably was. It was broadcast on MTV. It's an hour-long concert. It's great exposure, especially at that time.
00:48:17
Speaker
You know, because it was, you know, MTV was, you know, was pretty popular at that point. And so having an hour long set to yourself is great. But it's just it's ridiculous. It's so it's so funny. It's such a it's such an illustration of where MTV how quickly, you know, this was seven, less than seven years after they
00:48:39
Speaker
You know, it premiered and this is where that they were at too. And this is where Squeeze was at. And it was just like, all right, you know, it was just, it's just very funny. And it's, you know, and he had Jules is like, what, what am I doing here? You know, and of course, you know, Jules was, you know, so big on MTV anyway, cause he did, you know, the kind of, he hosted shows and things like that. And so he was definitely no stranger to it, but you know, I think he was like, all right, that's what am I doing here? We would not, they would not be doing this in England. Let's, let's put it that way.
00:49:08
Speaker
certainly under not not those kind of circumstances by any stretch of the imagination but it fit and then let me interrupt myself because here we are we've been discussing ntv which um and spring break and all that stuff to me feels very american
00:49:25
Speaker
So despite the fact that, and we'll also reiterate too, by the way, that at that point with 88, they had had their highest charting song, which was Hourglass, unbeknownst to some people out there.
00:49:42
Speaker
it's not tempted, or black coffee was actually hourglass. So there could have been some reasoning for that. But we tend to approach it all from a very American standpoint.
Squeeze's Success in the Late 80s
00:49:53
Speaker
So I didn't know if you had any thoughts or insight into how this was all perceived, how a band like that could basically tour all across England,
00:50:05
Speaker
back in those days between 79 and 85-ish, and yet America was laser focused on putting them on a station, a channel nationwide that really kind of, like you said, kind of helped them crack the US market. It's funny because when you look at there, the fact that Squeeze had those hits around that time, it's like 87, 88.
00:50:33
Speaker
they were not the only British band at that point that had their biggest sort of American breakthrough around that time. And I think that's what's so interesting in hindsight is that you're right, like they, you know, they had, you know, the hits, I think, quote unquote, people know now, you know, originally didn't chart that much, you know, and I'm not sure. And it makes sense they were bigger in England, because they, you know, at their heart, they are a very sort of British band.
00:50:59
Speaker
And it's one of those things where it's like it's an intangible thing. You can't necessarily put your finger on it. It's like why there's just certain bands that either it's their approach or humor or something. And I've talked to other people who, UK, someone actually said this recently about my writing that they read something I wrote and said, oh, just turn a phrase. This is a very American way of writing.
00:51:26
Speaker
or American way of criticism. And I was like, that's very interesting. And so there's just, there is definitely sort of differences in between, you know, kind of the two eras. But anyway, getting back to Squeeze is that, yeah, in 87, 88, it was like, all of these bands, and I think Squeeze, their evolution, I think, was a little bit more natural. You know, I think, you know, when you listen to Hourglass, you know, that's not a song that you're like, oh, that's really weird. They don't sound like themselves. Like, you know, that sounds very,
00:51:54
Speaker
and something they would definitely do. But you had bands like the Psychedelic Furs, who drastically changed their sound by 1987. And they were kind of moving in that direction, but they definitely had sort of their biggest profile around that time. And like Echo and the Bunnymen, who I think would probably never necessarily got above a huge cult falling in America, but Lips Like Sugar, it was huge then. That was sort of their biggest sort of American hit.
00:52:24
Speaker
New Order got bigger around this time, too, I think, in America. Obviously, the Pet Shop Boys had come out and they were big, too, but they didn't necessarily have the history.
00:52:35
Speaker
You know, Squeeze, I think, kind of benefited from like a weird, you know, I don't even know if you would say it's like a secondary 80s British invasion or just sort of the fact that because so many of the bands changed their sounds up a little bit and the fact that the modern rock charts, modern rock radio had started to become a little bit bigger. You know, Billboard started a modern rock chart to kind of measure this because they sensed something was happening. And Squeeze kind of benefited from that. You know, it's very interesting because I think when we look at the late 80s,
00:53:04
Speaker
you think of pop, you think of things like New Kids on the Block, you think of stock ache and waterman, and you think of these very glossy pop songs. But there was also this wave of British alternative bands that had a ton of success in the States. And Squeeze was one of them, even though they sounded totally different than the Furs and totally different than the Bunnymen and New Order. They were doing their own thing, but there was just sort of this little window of time where cracked open.
00:53:32
Speaker
And, you know, and MTV I think helped that because they always played British bands, you know, they they were, you know, I think consistently throughout the 80s, one of the biggest supporters of British bands, you know, depending on, you know, kind of across the board.
00:53:46
Speaker
But do you also feel that taking sort of MTV, no pun intended, out of the picture that a lot of that did have to do with presentation? I've spoken about it like ad nauseam about how they felt that they just did not fit into sort of, like you say, a presentation mode.
00:54:09
Speaker
being put into these videos that they weren't comfortable in, and you could feel that coming off the television screen. And it was just the thing to do, whereas all these other bands had something to say. And I know that Michael Jackson just took it right out of the stratosphere, say around that time that Squeeze was just about ready to start to break out. But by that time, it felt like either
00:54:37
Speaker
The labels were out of touch with what to do with them. And like you said, the alternative modern rock acknowledgement was just about ready to come into play with
00:54:53
Speaker
maybe bands that were not going to necessarily really break the bank, as it were, but they were now going to start to get airplay. And I have to ask you, there was like a radio report publication. Is it called the Hard Report? Yes.
00:55:14
Speaker
back then and then you also had, you know, the stuff that you were doing at Alternative Press and, you know, so that's kind of where I'm heading with this. It's like, how do you work with a band that was not really acknowledging so much
00:55:34
Speaker
Their heritage because they didn't have to and they didn't want to back from that time period But also you had a bunch of people that they were surrounded with who weren't Just weren't maybe quite tuned in to to what they had to offer and just decided well There's this gig on MTV coming up and bring break. That's your exposure, you know, so let me what do you think of that? I
00:55:59
Speaker
I mean, it's true. And I think that is the other sort of I think thing to point out is that squeeze sort of succeeded despite everything around them. When they sort of had success in America, it was just in spite of everything going on.
00:56:17
Speaker
I'd have to go back and look research-wise, but I would have to think the label was not like, sure, yes, we're going to have a hit with Hourglass, sure, after having no huge hits with the band back in the day. And Cozy Fan, Tootie Fruity did, I think, nothing in America.
00:56:35
Speaker
So I think that there were, you know, I think the expectations are probably a little bit low too. So, you know, I mean, I mean, it's sad to say, and I, you know, I don't know for a fact, but you know, you wonder if there was sort of, you know, and because radio pale, it was a big thing at the time still, you know, when you talk about crowded houses talked about don't dream it's over was pretty much dead in the water. And they there was a lot of sort of maneuvering that went on.
00:57:02
Speaker
to make that song a hit. And you wonder if potentially that happened with Squeeze. I don't know. But, you know, just in terms of it was such a, you know, it almost seems like it felt like it came out of nowhere in a sense that this band that, you know, I think Hourglass is a great song. I really love it. 853-5937. I love that song. That was, you know, their other like big hit in America.
00:57:24
Speaker
And, you know, but they're not necessarily, you know, things you would expect. You know, I think that, you know, Tempted and Black Coffee in Bed, I think are a lot more, you know, a lot poppier. The fact that they didn't become a hit is like befuddling because both of those songs are so great. So you wonder, it's like, you know, what was kind of going on behind the scenes? I don't know. You know, I mean, it's it's interesting to kind of see because, yeah, like, who would have expected this? You know, that was they had their kind of ephemeral
00:57:54
Speaker
you know, bit of like mainstream attention and then, you know, they've been sort of, you know, that's been it since, even though they're very great draws on tour. And I think that's, I guess, the other important thing is that, you know, squeeze still is very popular in America, you know, despite the fact that they maybe didn't necessarily have the biggest amount of like radio play or chart success here.
00:58:16
Speaker
They draw very well and are very well received when they tour here. I can't believe how many times that we've gotten the opportunity to see them in the last decade or so. Actually, maybe 15 years, I guess. It's unbelievable. You feel spoiled in a way.
00:58:34
Speaker
and the fact that they can produce and feel happy about it, whereas like you say, sometimes there was this weird dichotomy of, okay, and I've mentioned this a few times, whereas you're getting older, but still popular, what songs are appropriate? And I'm not coming at it from a
Balancing Nostalgia with New Material
00:58:54
Speaker
PC angle, so to speak. I'm just talking about generally speaking, as Chris has mentioned many times, because he's the writer,
00:59:01
Speaker
So to speak I don't feel comfortable. He said like 20 years ago singing certain parts of cool for cats Because it's very derogatory towards women and but that's the life he led back then and and that's how we explain that and nowadays You do want that nostalgia back at you despite everything and what was going on As far as the upbringing and the history of that song they're willing to play it now, you know, and again, I don't know what that means because
00:59:31
Speaker
of they've changed their viewpoints. And Chris has said recently, you know, I feel very blessed that I've had all of this time to write all of these words and make music. So that's the kind of vibe I get. I don't necessarily get that vibe with Duran because I just think of them as like these 20 year olds who just keep on, you know, pushing on as as it were.
00:59:59
Speaker
So that's kind of an interesting kind of go around with those type of bands. And who's going to be nostalgic? Who's not going to be nostalgic? Who's going to decide that what I'm doing now has relevance? What kind of audience am I attracting? Yeah, am I overthinking this a little bit?
01:00:20
Speaker
I don't know. It's funny because Duran has... Just as an example, Rio turned 40 last year. I think a lot of other bands would say Rio's turning 40. We're going to play the record in full. We're going to do a big thing at Royal Albert Hall and do things like that. They would never do that. That's so out of character for them.
01:00:47
Speaker
squeeze, I don't think they would do that either. I don't think that they would sit there and say, are we going to play full albums? Am I mistaken? They've never done that, right? In terms of presenting albums like that. No, it's definitely been a mix of old and new. Right, always.
01:01:07
Speaker
Yeah, and that's very similar to Duran, is that they're thankful and have a lot of gratitude for what they've done in the past, but they don't want to necessarily say, okay, we're going to just live there. They want to make sure that they're still pushing themselves.
01:01:23
Speaker
Because I've thought about this a lot, and I feel like this is when it's artists who came up in the punk scene. There's something about them that prevents that. Because you look at someone like Blondie too, who are still making new music and still touring. They're still pushing forward and doing things.
01:01:42
Speaker
And they've been around, I think, they've probably been around, I would say, as long as Squeeze. But of course, they came up in the punk band, the punk era. So bands who came up in that era are almost like they have a little bit of an allergic, they're a little bit allergic to nostalgia in a sense, because when you grew up in punk, you were a little bit tougher, you were a little bit like we're making something new and you always kind of have that in you. And I see that a little bit with Squeeze too, because gosh, when you look at those set lists,
01:02:11
Speaker
If you were a casual fan of Squeeze and some of the set lists, especially before the pandemic, when they were playing so much of their new material, I imagine it was like the people you said who were just like, get to cool for cats, get to tempted, because they were really presenting their new music in a very, very heavily way. That's what the shows were for. And I was super into it, but I know a lot of fans, casual fans probably weren't.
01:02:39
Speaker
You know, it's interesting to think about, you know, and I think I would imagine too over the years, like you said, with like, Chris is that their own relationship to their music has probably changed and evolved as well. There's probably some things you're like, Oh, I'm not gonna play those anymore. You know, but there's some things like, Oh, okay, maybe we will, you know, but I don't know, it's it's really interesting. And I hope that what we actually see out of all of this and discussion with you and me is that Duran Duran and Squeeze tour together, right?
01:03:07
Speaker
Oh, you know, I'm like right there. I'm following the tour. Like I'm quitting my job and following the tour. No, it's going to be good. I would
Touring Collaborations and Future Plans
01:03:13
Speaker
be, you know, every, every time I could, you know, it'd be, it's, it's funny. Cause that would be a really interesting, inspired tour. I think. Cause I mean, I remember when, when Squeeze was touring, you know, hall notes is toured with tears for fears.
01:03:25
Speaker
and that also squeeze in recent years. And both of those pairings on some level made so much sense to me. And I know other people were like, what are you talking about? Those are so weird. I'm like, no, no, no. There's something really, I can't put my finger on it, but it makes a lot of sense together. And I think squeeze is a little bit more obvious because they obviously have the Motown and the Soul and Common and things like that. But yeah, I love that. It just made so much sense to me. And I think, I don't know, I would like that.
01:03:54
Speaker
Maybe we should put that out there in the universe to make that happen. Yeah, couldn't you see like...
01:03:58
Speaker
like Glenn and Simon, like singing, um, ordinary world together. I mean, that's the whole thing is that, you know, uh, you know, obviously this is a squeeze podcast, but one, you know, one thing about Simon Le Bon and that, you know, I, when I interviewed people, um, you know, about his voice is that he has a very soulful voice and kind of a very sort of, you know, bluesy voice. And especially over the years, he's, as he's, you know,
01:04:24
Speaker
as he's learned how to sing and use his voice in different ways as well. There's some really like beautiful moments. I think him and Glenn could really, really sing well together. I would actually really like to hear that. I think that would be fantastic.
01:04:37
Speaker
Okay, so Simon, if you're listening, you know where to find us. Definitely you know where to find Annie. And the next ball to drop for Squeeze will be a collaboration vocally between Simon Laban and Glenn Tilbrook. Yes?
01:04:56
Speaker
I'm down. Let's do it. Okay. Sounds good. I think that's a fantastic way to end our hard track. I think so too. It brings both worlds together, doesn't it? Rather nicely. It really does. So, Annie, thank you so much. I've had a ball talking about this. I'm glad we were able to talk and laugh about certain things with regards to both bands. And I'm sure we'll come up with some more wonderful MTV-themed podcasts in the future.
01:05:25
Speaker
I would completely agree, you know, as I sit there on the inner, you know, at the places where there's videos and things like that, I'm always looking for old, old MTV, you know, vid checks and stuff like that, because it's fascinating to watch all that stuff when, you know, no one knew what they were doing when cable was just kind of in its infancy. And now we do 40 years later. Well, thank you so much. And definitely we'll get together again very soon. Awesome. Thanks for having me.