Glenn Tilbrook: Stockton Arc

SQUEEZE’S Glenn Tilbrook is something of a regular to the ARC stage and it was good to welcome him back on his Best of Times tour to see him deliver a terrific set of classics, solo material and deftly picked covers.

He and songwriting partner Chris Difford are responsible for some of the most iconic songs of the 1970s and 1980s, but what often gets overlooked is what an outstanding guitarist Tilbrook is. This tour, he is alone on stage with a handful of guitars and the songs stripped back to their barest.

The Squeeze songs, which included Tempted, Labelled With Love, Up The Junction, Another Nail In My Heart, Some Fantastic Place and Black Coffee in Bed, are simply timeless and had everyone singing along and dancing in the aisles of the packed theatre.

Tilbrook's confidence and stagecraft is such that after originally declining audience requests for Cool For Cats, saying he couldn't compete with Chris Difford's original vocal, but would play it if someone fancied a go at the vocals. Audience member Phil accepted the challenge, joined him on stage and did a fine job.

Solo tracks like Persephone and the amusing Genitalia of a Fool were mixed with covers of the Kinks' So Tired, the Easybeats' Friday On My Mind and even One Day I'll Fly Away, rescuing the song from forever being associated with a certain Christmas television advertisement.

It was a sublime evening that left everyone, Tilbrook included, with huge smiles on their faces.

Dave Lawrence