Buzz Knight and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze Explore the Creative Journey of their New Album 'Trixies' on Takin' a Walk

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Buzz Knight and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze Explore the Creative Journey of their New Album 'Trixies'"

Podcast: Takin’ A Walk – Music History with Buzz Knight
Host: Buzz Knight
Guest: Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze)
Release Date: March 24, 2026
Main Theme: Revisiting the teenage origins and creative rebirth behind Squeeze’s new album “Trixies”, and the enduring partnership between Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford.

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Episode Overview

This episode features a deep dive into the creative process behind “Trixies,” the brand-new album from legendary British band Squeeze. Host Buzz Knight walks with Glenn Tilbrook, discussing the unique journey of reviving songs written nearly 50 years ago as teenagers, the nostalgia and emotion tied to the project, Squeeze’s enduring partnership, and how returning to their roots has sparked new creativity and confidence for the future. The episode is rich with reflection, musical insight, and vivid storytelling.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Origins of “Trixies”

[04:34 - 05:51] Glenn Tilbrook on Teenage Aspirations and Songwriting

• The album is comprised of songs written by Glenn and Chris when they were just teenagers (“a world of limited horizons, but a lot of hopes and dreams”).
• “Trixies” was envisioned as centered around a fictional nightclub—a place filled with characters both real and imagined.
• The songs reflect youthful optimism:

  “It sounds optimistic to me... we have our whole future ahead of us, so why wouldn't we be optimistic?”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [04:55]

2. Rediscovering the Lost Songs

[05:33 - 07:08] The Myth of the Lost Tape and the Real Emotional Reveal

• Contrary to some stories, the band never completely forgot about these early songs, though Chris did recently find an old tape.
• The true revelation was in re-learning and performing the songs much later—and realizing their strength:

  “Oh my God, this is better than we thought it was. It’s a really strong collection of songs considering... well, everything to do with where they were and the time they were made.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [06:23]

3. Musical Influences Then and Now

[07:08 - 08:44] On Musical Growth and What’s Changed

• Tilbrook describes how his musical world has vastly expanded since 1974, now including a wider range of genres beyond the initial 1960s and 70s influences (“my musical palette… consisted mostly of current stuff that I'd heard in the last three years”).
• Returning to these old songs unlocked an appreciation for how far their craft has come:

  “What I write now... I’m occupying all the decades that I’ve had since then with information and influences.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [08:15]

4. The Role of Owen Biddle (Producer & Bassist)

[08:44 - 09:35]

• Owen is not only a talented producer and musician but also “the first Squeeze fan to join Squeeze,” bringing enthusiasm and new energy to the project.

• “He brought his talent, his ear, his innate musicianship. He has such an appreciation for Chris and I...”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [09:00]

5. The Narrative Arc of “Trixies”

[09:35 - 10:45]

• The album unfolds in a nightclub setting, teeming with criminal vignettes and characters “on the margins.”
• The early lyrics suggest a story without tying specifics—deliberately enigmatic:

  “It manages to paint a picture of a place without ever revealing everything about it or the people…”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [10:13]

6. The Enduring Squeeze Partnership

[10:45 - 12:01]

• Glenn and Chris’s successful creative partnership is rooted in their differences and clear professional boundaries:

  “We don’t socialize, we have very little to do with each other outside Squeeze...our relationship isn’t going anywhere except professionally, and we have the utmost respect for each other.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [11:03]

• Their ability to keep things professional is described as an “unintended superpower.”

7. New Inspirations and Looking Forward

[12:01 - 13:54] The Creative Impact of Reconnecting with the Past

• Revisiting “Trixies” was paired with writing new material to avoid becoming trapped in nostalgia.
• Both projects flourished in tandem:

  “Trixie’s really informed our songwriting… we’re very different writers to how we were then, but I think the great thing is that we’re capable of writing something that is, at the very least, the equal of Trixie’s.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [13:07]

8. Personal Reflections & Performing Live

[13:54 - 15:52] Headlining the O2 & Lessons from a Lifetime in Music

• Squeeze is headlining the O2 Arena near where they began—a deeply meaningful full-circle moment.
• Tilbrook reflects on past career lows, as a solo act playing tiny venues, and the life lesson it brought:

  “Wherever the moment is, make sure you’re there, present and in it. That has been the biggest gift.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [15:29]

• He feels Squeeze is “the best we’ve ever been” and that their new material may be their strongest yet.

9. Lifelong Passion and First Beatles Memory

[15:52 - 17:44]

• Glenn, now 68, says it took half his life to truly believe his career would last:

  “I realized that I’m destined to do this and that it’s not going to stop.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [16:32]

• Recounts the “electrifying” moment, as a child, of hearing “A Hard Day’s Night” from a window on the way to school—a formative Beatles memory.

10. Touring with Squeeze—Today’s Sound

[17:44 - 19:12]

• Squeeze is now a 9-piece band, vastly expanding their live capabilities, especially in vocal harmonies ("We have six people in the band that can sing—so we use that to its full extent...I’m so excited for when we tour because we just knock people over now.").
• Squeeze’s connection to New York City remains special ("that thrill has never left me").

11. The "Take a Walk" Signature Question

[20:25 - 21:03] Glenn’s Dream Walk

• If Glenn could take a walk with anyone, it would be Paul McCartney:

  "His influence has been so immense on me...I would love to get to know him in a way I know I never will."
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [20:38]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the optimism of youth:

  “It sounds optimistic to me...we have our whole future ahead of us, so why wouldn’t we be optimistic?”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [04:55]

• On Squeeze’s growing legacy:

  “I think we’re the best we’ve ever been. And I think that the new album contains some of the best songs we’ve ever written.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [15:38]

• On the magic of first hearing The Beatles:

  "Hearing the intro chord to Hard Day’s Night...it just electrified me.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [17:22]

• On the value of being present:

  “Wherever the moment is, make sure you’re there, present and in it.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [15:29]

• On the partnership with Chris Difford:

  “It’s like an unintended superpower that we have.”
  — Glenn Tilbrook, [11:51]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:34] — Revisiting 1974 & the origin of “Trixies”
• [05:33] — Rediscovery of early songs & emotional impact
• [07:08] — How Glenn’s musical worldview evolved
• [08:44] — Owen Biddle’s role in the new album
• [09:59] — Narrative structure and characters in “Trixies”
• [10:45] — Enduring creative relationship with Chris Difford
• [12:01] — How “Trixies” inspired new songwriting
• [13:54] — Playing the O2 Arena & reflecting on career trajectory
• [15:52] — Lifelong passion for music and “first Beatles moment”
• [17:44] — Squeeze’s powerful new live show
• [20:25] — The Paul McCartney “take a walk” question

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Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, candid, and reflective, peppered with wit and self-effacing British humor. Glenn is open about both the challenges and the joys of the creative journey, and Buzz engages as a genuine longtime fan, bringing forth stories and insights that go beyond surface nostalgia.

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Takeaway

This episode is a celebration of Squeeze’s enduring artistry, their unique creative chemistry, and the joyous rediscovery of their teenage spark decades later. “Trixies” is more than a trip down memory lane—it’s proof that musical passion, openness to growth, and meaningful partnerships can yield powerful new beginnings, even after half a century.

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Transcript

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Taking a walk.

[Buzz Knight]

There are bands that make great records, and then there are bands that make records that feel like they were written just for you. Songs that capture a moment, a place of feeling so precisely that you swear the writer must have been looking through your window. Squeeze has always been that kind of band for me. And maybe for you as well. Up the Junction the Tempted to cool for Cats to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford built one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships in rock history. A partnership that has a catalog that has stood the test of time like very few others. But here's the twist. The story of Squeeze has a new chapter, and it actually begins at the very beginning. The band's extraordinary new album, Trixies, is out now on bmg, and it's unlike anything you've heard from them before, because in a sense, it's unlike anything they had heard from themselves before. These are songs that Glenn and Chris wrote as teenagers. Glenn was just 16 years old, set in a fictional nightclub called Trixies. The songs were written before the hits, before the world tours, before the legend. They were too young, too inexperienced to record them properly at the time, so they waited 50 years. And now, finally, Trixie's had its moment. The New York Times says Tilbrook pumps them full of life. Buoyant hooks and confident, soulful vocal lines. Classic rock calls it a record imagined in youth, realized in maturity. I'm Buzz Knight and today on Taking a Walk, we're gonna sit down with the man himself. The voice, the guitar, the melodic genius behind one of Britain's greatest bands. Next we'll talk to Glenn Tilbrook. Squeeze on Taking A Walk this is an iHeart podcast.

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[Buzz Knight]

Taking a walk so Glenn, take me back to 1974. You're 16 years old. You and Chris Differd are just beginning your songwriting partnership, and you're already writing songs about a fictional nightclub called Trixies. What was the world you were living in that inspired that?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Well, a world of limited horizons, I would say, but a lot of hopes and dreams and optimism about what the future could hold for us. And I think that, strangely enough, that optimism is reflected in the writing of Trixies. It sounds optimistic to me. I don't know if I'm just imbuing it with my memory, but it does sound optimistic. And we have our whole future ahead of us, so why wouldn't we be optimistic?

[Buzz Knight]

And Lord, do we need optimism these days, don't we?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Yeah, we all do. That's true.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah. When you rediscovered that Original cassette After 50 years, take our audience back to what that moment was actually like. Was it a shock? Was it extremely emotional? What came flooding back at that Moment.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Well, at the risk of I want to dispel a myth that is growing up around this, we knew about the songs all the time. We hadn't forgotten them. And I think, you know, some. Chris found a tape and he brought it in and it was good to hear it because we hadn't heard it for a long time. But we knew, we knew what we had. But the real moment, I think, was when we thought about doing the songs and I learned how to play them. Cause I hadn't played them for a long time. And we sat down in here, where I am now, this studio control room on this piano here, and played the songs to Owen Biddle and to Chris. And by the end of that we did think, oh my God, this is better than we thought it was. You know, it's a. It's a really strong collection of songs considering. Well, considering everything to do with where they were made and the time they were made that stand up and didn't really need a lot of help from us, except in the areas where we could do with the most help. At that time in 1974, we couldn't play or sing particularly well. And we can do it a lot better now.

[Buzz Knight]

You've said the act of revisiting those songs had you in. In tears and that you're aware of all the stuff you've still yet to hear and write when you're hearing it. That's a profound thing to say about your own work. Can you talk about that a bit more?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Yeah, I'm glad I said it. I'm glad I put it like that because that is. That's really meaningful. What it means to me is my musical palette in 1974 consisted mostly of current stuff that I'd heard in the last three years, but also was wider, informed by the 60s. That's when I taught myself how to play. And I used to play a lot of songs in record songbooks and teach myself how to play them. So all that stuff is. Is inside, I mean, also from my parents record collection, you know, Ellen Fitzgerald and all sorts of different jazz had found its way into my consciousness. So there was that there. But rock music, well, that was 20 years old, you know, and of course there was R and B and rock and roll before that, black music. But there's so much more now. There's so much more, you know, what I write now, I'm. I'm occupying all the decades that I've had since then with information and influences. And at that point it really wasn't that much stuff. Clunking around, so it's more targeted, more precise.

[Buzz Knight]

You mentioned Owen Biddle earlier. He produced Trixie. He's a man, you know very well as Squeezes bassist. Talk about what he brought to the recordings that, you know, maybe someone outside of the band couldn't have.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

He bought. He bought a lot to the recordings. He bought his talent, his ear, his innate musicianship. And also he bought. He has such an appreciation for Chris and I. I think he's the first, sort of, I hope he won't mind my saying, his first Squeeze fan to join Squeeze. So, you know, that's so lovely. It's. It's really lovely to have someone like that in the band. What he brought to the table in terms of helping get the songs ready is immense.

[Buzz Knight]

It's got to be a dream for. For him, too, to be part of that. I mean, boy, what a beautiful, beautiful story. The album has this incredible arc. It's set in a nightclub, it has crime scene vignettes, characters on the margins. Was there always this narrative structure to Trixies, or did that reveal itself over time?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

You know, I think it. One of the things that fascinates me about it lyrically is that there is a story there, but it does involve lots of different characters, but it's just not specific enough to say, oh, this led to that, and then this happened. And the conclusion is, it's not like that. It's something that is really tantalizing to me, is that it manages to paint a picture of a place without ever revealing everything about it or the people. And so there are all sorts of characters in there who we have maybe come across or just dreamt of. You know, certainly Chris had more worldly experience than I did at that point.

[Buzz Knight]

You and Chris have one of the great songwriting partnerships in rock history, often compared to Lennon and McCartney. What is it about the way the two of you work together that has endured over these 50 years?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

I think the fact that we're very different people and we don't. We don't socialize, we have very little to do with each other outside Squeeze. And in a way, in a strange way, the fact that we fell out probably in 1976 or something, has a great bearing on our ability to maintain our relationship, because our relationship isn't going anywhere except professionally, and we have the utmost respect for each other. I think.

[Buzz Knight]

I think that's a fascinating way to look at it because it takes out a lot of the messy things that can happen in relationships and keeps you on a very constant track to this Day. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

I know exactly what you're talking about. And you're right. It's sort of right. It's like an unintended superpower that we have. I love that

[Buzz Knight]

the press release mentions that revisiting Trixies has sparked a new wave of songwriting, which is so exciting to hear it, that a brand new album of Squeeze songs is already finished. What did going back to the beginning unlock for you guys? Creatively?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

I thought it was really important when we were talking about doing this, about doing Trixies, that we didn't just do that because I thought there was a danger that we'd trap ourselves in the past. And that the way to really combat that is to do two things at the same time. And that's a new and an old album. And to give them both the amount of attention that they deserve. And what happened throughout that process is that Trixie's really informed our songwriting. But it's not. It's not where it was in 1974, it's where we are now. And we have many more influences coming into play. And I think, as anyone who loves music will attest, your. Your taste never remains static. It's a constant, ongoing digestion of whatever is really floating your boat at the moment, combined with all the other stuff that you've heard. So we're very different writers to how we were then, but I think the great thing is that we're capable of writing something that is, at the very least, the equal of Trixie's. And that's a really big thing. Cause we knew that Trixies would be a big thing, but we knew that the thing after that had better be something good and if necessary, be the end of our legacy. You know, it could be that, it might be that. Who knows? We're getting on the bit.

[Buzz Knight]

Well, Squeeze is about to headline arenas in the UK for the first time, including a hometown show at the big arena three miles from where the band began.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Yep. One mile where I am now. Wow. All right.

[Buzz Knight]

What is that? That's the O2 Arena. Is that right?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

That's the O2. The O2 arena is just down the road.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah. So talk about what that means to you personally.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Well, you know, when I reflect on my career, I go back to meeting Chris and to having Squeezes, a band for three years before we made a record. And then the early success and the mid period of hanging about a bit. And then in a way, one of the things that's the strongest influence on me is what happened when our career, you know, when we Split up in 97, it was a sort of tough time. I was solo and I was playing clubs, and sometimes people would come, other times, not necessarily that many. At that point, I really discovered something that maybe I'd forgotten, which is that I love doing this and whatever it is, if I'm playing in a launderette to six people, that's what I'll do. And I'm happy doing that. And never to think, oh, you know, I could have been, I should have been. You know, that's. I don't see anything productive in thinking like that. I see a great deal of productivity in enjoying the moment. And wherever the moment is, make sure you're there, present and in it. And that has been the biggest gift to go forward back into Squeeze and bring that to where we are now, where I think we're the best we've ever been. And I think that the new album contains some of the best songs we've ever written. And that's such a fantastic place to be in now.

[Buzz Knight]

Do you have a recollection of the first moment in your life that you knew you would be deeply connected with music for the rest of your life?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

I think that in the first half of my life, I'm 68 now. I'm gonna say probably for the first half of it, I wasn't at all sure my career in music would last. And I wondered what that was about. There was a fear of losing the foothold that we got again. I mentioned the time when my career was at its lowest. It became like a superpower for me because I realized that I'm destined to do this and that it's not going to stop. I'd already reached the point where if I was going to stop, I'd have stopped then. If I'd been depressed, it would have been then. But it's not what happened. I enjoyed that time and I enjoy this time.

[Buzz Knight]

We talk often on this podcast about when folks have that first Beatles moment. Many times it's the first Beatles moment, and it's a reference to the Ed Sullivan show appearance. What was your first Beatles moment that impacted you?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Do you know? I have a very vivid memory of walking to my school when I was 6 or 7 and hearing the intro chord to Hard Day's Night, when it was a new song come out of an upstairs window. And I stood and listened to it from the street, and it just electrified me. And it was the first. I don't know if I was. I was aware of the Beatles before, but that sound absolutely captivated me.

[Buzz Knight]

Wow, what a visual. Yeah, that's incredible. You guys are going to be at the Hollywood bowl in September. That must be really incredibly exciting thinking about that.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Aren't we lucky?

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah, it's amazing. Alongside Adam Ant in the English Beat, a remarkable British Invasion bill. Talk about the energy, like when Squeeze plays a room of that magnitude.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

You know, squeeze since 2020, throughout lockdown and all that stuff, we did a lot of housekeeping and we've got better and better. We're now a nine piece band that seems unimaginable to people who are used to a five piece Squeeze. But we have a lot of different things that we can do now that we could never do, one of them being vocals. We have six people in the band that can sing, so we use that to its full extent. We have BVS harmony vocals. We have so broadened our palette of what we can do and how we can deliver it live. It's just. I'm so excited for when we tour because we just knock people over now. It's, you know, I know the change in us and in the audience reaction is really palpable and it's incredible and. And we deserve every bit of it.

[Buzz Knight]

I would say so. And I'm incredibly looking forward to seeing you guys again. I've seen you guys many times through the. The New York City trips that you would make. That's always been a special place I'm imagining to play. New York City.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Absolutely. Yeah, completely. I was talking to someone earlier on and saying about the first view of Manhattan when you drive in from JFK for us, which is in 1978. You come as that little bit of a hill you go over and then you see Manhattan glinting in the distance. And that thrill has never left me. I still get that buzz whenever I. You know, I'm riding into town and see that view. And it was everything and more than I ever could have imagined.

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, I have chills with that description. That's so fantastic. And from all those performances and being able to be part of a radio station where you guys were instrumental, which was WNEW fm.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

New York City. Yeah. I got to work weekends there. Played many Squeeze records during my time, for sure. And we'll never forget that. So finally, Glenn.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

The signature Taking a walk question. If you could take a walk with anybody, living or dead, who would it be and what would you want to talk about and where would you take that walk? Glenn?

[Glenn Tilbrook]

It will be. It would be with Paul McCartney actually. And this could never happen because we are not equals. We happen to have done the same thing. But his influence has been so immense on me. You know, he is fantastic. I would love to get to know him in a way I know I never will.

[Buzz Knight]

Beautiful having you on. It's amazing talking to you, Glenn. And congratulations on Trixies on the upcoming tour, the next album. And thank you for all the joy that you continue to give us. Thanks for being on Taking a Walk.

[Glenn Tilbrook]

Oh thank you Buzz. It's been really lovely. Thank you.

[Buzz Knight]

I'm Buzz Knight and thanks for listening to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now please check out our companion podcasts produced by BuzzKnight Media Productions with your host Lynn Hoffman. Music Save Me Showcasing the healing power of music and comedy, Save Me Shining a light on how laughter is the best medicine. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and are part of the iHeart podcast network.

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