Squeeze

Chris Difford effectively broke up the band in 1999 with his announcement that he was taking a hiatus from working with Tilbrook.
. Players with Squeeze during the 1990s included drummer Pete Thomas and pianist Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello's Attractions, drummer Kevin Wilkinson, Don Snow, Hilaire Penda, Ashley Soan, and Jools's brother Christopher Holland. To their credit, Universal reprinted the first three albums for sale in the UK in early 2004 following the success of the Andrews/Jules cover, and these sold in astonishing numbers. By this point Squeeze was basically a trade name for Difford and Tilbrook plus sidemen. Adding to that criticism of the band has been the fact that over the years, branches of Universal Records have released numerous "greatest hits" collections, compilations, DVDs, and repackaged reissues of the same, at times without the band's knowledge. Jools Holland left Squeeze again in 1989, and Gilson Lavis left in 1992. The coincidental timing of the Andrews/Jules single and the release of TFF's new album prompted some critics to accuse the band of capitalizing on the single's success for profit, although TFF wrote and recorded their new album before Andrews and Jules had recorded theirs.

His tenure with the band would last only a year, however. The success of the single also led to TFF's greatest hits album, Tears Roll Down, spending eight weeks in the UK Top 40 a full twelve years after its release. Andy Metcalfe of the Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians joined the next year to supplement Holland's keyboards. Despite chart-topping success in the USA, Tears For Fears have yet to reach the top spot themselves in their native country, and the cover marked "their" first Number 1. However, 1985 saw the return of Squeeze, now featuring Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Keith Wilkinson on bass. In 2003 the legacy of Tears For Fears re-emerged with some surprise when a haunting piano-only cover version of their debut hit "Mad World", performed by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules and featured on the soundtrack to the cult film Donnie Darko, reached the coveted UK Number 1 spot for Christmas 2003. After Sweets from a Stranger was released the next year, Difford and Tilbrook broke up the band. A tour of larger UK venues will follow in April.

However, Carrack would leave after the release of East Side Story, and was replaced on keyboards by Don Snow. The UK release will contain all fourteen tracks written and recorded during the ELAHE sessions. Jools Holland was next to exit, being replaced with Paul Carrack in 1980. East Side Story, perhaps Squeeze's most successful album, was released in 1981, produced by Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian, and featured Carrack's lead vocals on "Tempted". Everybody Loves a Happy Ending will be released in the UK and Europe in February 2005 on Gut Records. John Bentley replaced Harry Kakoulli on bass after the latter's firing in 1978. A successful US tour followed. Their debut album was produced by John Cale for A&M Records. Indeed, one of the highest compliments paid to the album was one reviewer's comment that "John Lennon and Paul McCartney are alive and well." The twelve-track album was scheduled for release on Arista Records in late 2003, but a label switch to New Door, a new offshoot of Universal, delayed the release until September 14, 2004.

Gilson Lavis replaced Gunn on drums and Harry Kakoulli joined on bass in 1976. This spirit is largely the work of co-writer and producer Charlton Pettus, who succeeded at the formidable task of melding Orzabal's lush songwriting with the live energy of Smith's Mayfield shows. The founding members were Chris Difford (guitar, vocals), Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar), Jools Holland (piano), and Paul Gunn (drums). Like their earlier work, ELAHE features TFF's hallmarks of vibrant Beatlesque melodies, solid songwriting, and turns of phrase, but the album also has a free spirit that Orzabal and Smith would have shunned in their earlier, more serious years. Founded in 1974 in London, the band broke up in 1982, re-formed in 1985, and broke up again in 1999, this time apparently for good. The ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, is in many ways what "The Seeds of Love" was meant to be. Squeeze was a British pop/rock band. Much to their surprise, the songwriting sessions, which included Charlton Pettus, went so well that fourteen songs were written and recorded in less than six months (by contrast, the drum track alone for "Badman's Song" on "The Seeds of Love", an eight-song album, took six weeks to record.).

Big Squeeze: The Very Best Of Squeeze (compilation), Jun 2002. The two patched up their differences and Orzabal flew to Smith's home in Los Angeles for what they assumed would be a hesitant attempt at songwriting. Up The Junction (compilation), Aug 2000. In 2001, routine paperwork obligations led to Orzabal and Smith's first conversation in over a decade. Live at the Royal Albert Hall (live), 1999. As fate would have it, the album had the bad luck to be released on September 11, 2001, and drew little notice outside TFF's core fan base. Master Series (compilation), Nov 1998. Where TFF's work had remained guitar-based, Tomcats Screaming Outside showcased a completely electronic style and a darker approach.

Six Of One... (box set), Oct 1997. After undertaking production work for Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini, Orzabal reteamed with Griffiths and recorded the album Tomcats Screaming Outside, released on Eagle Records as a solo project, under his own name. Excess Moderation (compilation), Nov 1996. The dizzying array of record company mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s eventually placed TFF's back catalogue into the Universal fold. Piccadilly Collection (compilation), Aug 1996. The remasters also had the effect of establishing TFF as definitive artists, helping them to escape the dreaded "80's band" moniker. Greatest Hits (compilation), Apr 1992. As with Saturnine, the liner notes provided rich background and new insights even to longtime fans.

A Round and a Bout (live), Mar 1990. In 1999 Mercury Records released remastered editions of TFF's first three albums which included b-sides, remixes, and extended versions. Classics, Vol. 25 (compilation), 1987. The liner notes gave fans an insight into the songwriting process as well as a rare glimpse of self-deprecating humour from TFF regarding the tracks which they would rather forget. Singles - 45's and Under (compilation), Nov 1982. In 1996 a collection of TFF's impressive b-sides, Saturnine Martial and Lunatic, was released on Mercury. Domino, Nov 1998. Sony responded to the lack of commercial success by ending TFF's contract.

Ridiculous, Nov 1995. The release of Raoul was delayed for nearly a year due to a last-minute switch label from Mercury to Sony, and the ensuing confusion (Mercury had already begun promotion) did not help the album's chances either. Some Fantastic Place, Sep 1993. A worldwide tour, which included a frenzied welcome in South and Latin America, had the effect of straining Orzabal's energies rather than supporting them. Play, Aug 1991. (Raoul was originally the name Orzabal's parents wanted to give him.) Although it continued TFF's legacy of outstanding songwriting, big production values, and varied influences, creating an album around the theme of exotic Spanish heritage excluded all but its main single, "God's Mistake", from any chance of commercial success. Frank, Sep 1989. Orzabal and Griffiths released another Tears for Fears album in 1995, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, a more quiet and contemplative work that showed a new Latin music influence.

Babylon and On, Sep 1987. It is unfortunate that the album was received with more attention paid to what it was not - an album without Smith - than for what the album was, an immensely enjoyable blend of good songwriting and creative sampling. Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, Aug 1985. It yielded the radio hit "Break It Down Again" and was supported with a successful US college tour. Sweets From A Stranger, May 1982. In 1993, Orzabal recorded the album Elemental in collaboration with longtime co-collaborator Alan Griffiths, and released it under the Tears for Fears moniker. East Side Story, May 1981. Smith also took on the management or co-management of several independent bands and musicians.

Argybargy, Feb 1980. A second album, Aeroplane, was released in 1998, showcasing the songs written during Mayfield's club days. Cool for Cats, Mar 1979. Eschewing major record labels, Smith formed his own label, Zerodisc, to release Mayfield's music, and was an early advocate of using the internet to share and distribute music outside the mainstream industry. Squeeze, Mar 1978. As a live band, Mayfield performed with minimal production and no commercial obligations, and Smith's sense of musicianship was rekindled for the first time since his teenage years. U.K. From 1996 to 1998 their band, Mayfield, performed occasional sets in clubs throughout Greenwich Village and SoHo including Brownie's, the Mercury Lounge, and CBGB.