THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

507-Squeeze-Up the Junction.

1979-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.10. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were once hailed as ‘The heirs to Lennon and McCartney’s throne.’

Christopher Henry Difford who was born on November 4th, 1954, in Greenwich, London England, claims that in 1973 he stole 50p from his mothers purse to put a card in a local sweet shop window to advertise for a guitarist to join his band, although he wasn’t actually in a band at the time.Glenn Martin Tillbrook who was born on August 31st, 1957, in London, England, was the only person to respond to the advert. Jools Holland (keyboards) and Paul Gunn (drums) were the next two to join after seeing an advert placed in the ‘New Musical Express’. The band took their name from The Velvet Underground’s 1973 Album called ‘Squeeze’. They were active between 1974-1982, but reformed in 1985-1999, and then reformed again in 2007.There has been a total of 27 different band members over that time, with Difford and Tillbrook being the only constants. Squeeze have released 16 studio Albums between 1978-2017, and achieved 12 UK top 40 singles.

‘Up the Junction’ was the third single released from Squeeze’s second studio Album ‘Cool For Cats’ in 1979, with lyrics by Chris Difford, and the music by Glenn Tillbrook. Difford got his inspiration for the lyrics from the collection of short stories written by the English playwright Neil Dunn, one of which was called ‘Up the Junction,’ and was made in to a television play in 1965, and a film with a soundtrack by Manfred Mann in 1968. Although the song isn’t the same story as the book or film, it does allude to the same themes of a working class environment, and pregnancy.The song tells the story of a couple falling in love, and moving in together. She becomes pregnant, and he tries to do the right thing by getting a job, and saving some money each week, but by the end of the song he has become an alcoholic, and she has left him for another man, and taken the baby with her, and he is too proud to beg her forgiveness. Up the junction is London slang for being in big trouble, and is also a reference to the working class area of Clapham Junction, in London.

‘Alone here in the kitchen I feel there’s something missing. I’d beg for some forgiveness, but begging’s not my business, and she won’t write a letter, although I always tell her, and so it’s my assumption, I’m really up the junction.’