SQUEEZE – EAST SIDE STORY LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1981 NEW WAVE

Squeeze – East Side Story
(A&M Records  1981  AMLH64854)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing
“Porky Prime Cut” in dead wax

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are a few light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some rubbing

Squeeze are a British band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave period of the late 1970s and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s. They are known in the UK for their hit songs “Cool for Cats”, “Up the Junction”, “Tempted”, “Labelled With Love“, “Black Coffee In Bed“, “Another Nail in My Heart”,”Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)” and “Hourglass”. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American chart hits with “Tempted”, “Hourglass” and “853-5937”, and they have a dedicated following there and continue to attract new fans. All of Squeeze’s hits were written by band members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, with the former penning the lyrics and the latter handling the composition. The duo were hailed as “the heirs to Lennon and McCartney’s throne” during their peak of popularity in the early 1980s.

The group formed in Deptford, London, in 1974, and first broke up in 1982. Squeeze then reformed in 1985, and disbanded again in 1999. The band reunited for tours through the United States and United Kingdom in 2007, and this touring version of Squeeze has continued.

Difford and Tilbrook confirmed during interviews at the V Festival in both 2008 and 2011 (and in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone) that they plan to produce a record of new Squeeze material. In 2010, they issued Spot the Difference, an album of newly recorded versions of older material. Then, during their 2012 tour of the US, Squeeze made available for sale a 4-song CD of new demo recordings; later in 2012, the band’s first new official studio recordings in 14 years were issued as the EP Packet Of Four. Currently, this 4-song CD EP is only available as a bonus disc to purchasers of various live concert recordings of Squeeze’s 2012 UK tour.

East Side Story is the fourth studio album by new wave group Squeeze. The initial concept was for a double-LP with one side produced by Elvis Costello, another by Dave Edmunds, a third by Nick Lowe and the fourth possibly by Paul McCartney. Ultimately it was largely produced by Costello and Roger Bechirian, and released on one disc. The album peaked at number 19 in the UK Albums Chart, spending 26 weeks in the listing.

However, Edmunds did produce the album’s opening track, and sessions with Lowe yielded “Looking For A Love”. This latter track (and one other album outtake produced by Bechirian and Costello) was appended to a 1997 UK CD reissue of East Side Story, as part of the band’s Six of One… box set. The set included the band’s first six studio albums, all digitally remastered. A year later, each separate CD (including the expanded East Side Story) was made available for individual purchase.

The album was a definite break with Squeeze’s “New Wave” sound, as it contained songs influenced by rockabilly, R&B, blue-eyed soul, Merseybeat, and psychedelia among other genres. It also contained Squeeze’s last top 10 UK single, “Labelled with Love”.

East Side Story was the first album for new keyboardist Paul Carrack, replacing Jools Holland who had departed in early 1981. He sang lead on the track “Tempted”, which became Squeeze’s first U.S. chart hit. Shortly after the release of this album, Carrack left the band for a solo career, but he returned to Squeeze for a time in the early 1990s, playing and singing on the Some Fantastic Place album.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook except as indicated.

LP side A:

1. “In Quintessence” – 2:55 Produced by Dave Edmunds, assisted by Neil King
2. “Someone Else’s Heart” – 3:00
3. “Tempted” – 4:02
4. “Piccadilly” – 3:26
5. “There’s No Tomorrow” – 3:27
6. “Heaven” – 3:49
7. “Woman’s World” – 3:42

LP side B:

1. “Is That Love” – 2:31
2. “F-Hole” – 4:41
3. “Labelled With Love” – 4:44
4. “Someone Else’s Bell” – 3:08
5. “Mumbo Jumbo” – 3:13
6. “Vanity Fair” – 3:09
7. “Messed Around” – 2:42

Personnel

• Chris Difford – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocal on “Someone Else’s Heart” and “Heaven”
• Glenn Tilbrook – lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards
• Paul Carrack – keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocal on “Tempted”
• John Bentley – bass, backing vocals
• Gilson Lavis – Drums

Additional personnel

• Elvis Costello – additional vocal on “Tempted”; backing vocal on “There’s No Tomorrow”
• Del Newman – string arrangements