St Mary’s squeezes in top music

On Saturday December 16, I made tracks down Rock Channel Quay and gazed up to the blackest of skies, with vast clusters of stars shining down, lighting up the masts and grass bank along the river Brede,  absolutely spectacular.  However, there were other star attractions awaiting me on this glorious night. They were to be found at St Mary’s church.

I was off to see Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook the founder members of the group Squeeze. These two highly talented musicians from southeast London were hailed in the early 80s as the heirs to Lennon & McCartney with their clever lyrics, strong story lines captured with catchy melodies.  As I closed in on my destination, the excitement was growing and every footstep quickened my anticipation.

Back from their recent successful tours of the UK and the US and after the completion of their 15^th studio album “The Knowledge” they could easily be forgiven for taking this gig lightly and just go through the motions. What kind of performance could we expect in this quaint and historical little venue?

I was going to have to wait, first up and supporting were Arcelia, a three piece folk/pop outfit from Kent playing here for their second time.  Mellow soulful tunes flowed through airwaves as the atmosphere built and the excitement grew for the main event.

It was time, the boys from Squeeze were on and the strings on Tilbrook’s black Stratocaster and Difford’s acoustic guitars were in touching distance.  They kicked off with “Slap & Tickle” – oh my, they were up for it, and the small intimate audience knew it! Responding with thunderous applause as the first track came to an end,  the distinctive sound and unusual harmony of these two very different voices was as fresh as the very first release of over 30 years or so ago.

For those in attendance who were not die- hard Squeeze fans even they would have been pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of familiar tunes and would have found it impossible not to be impressed with the superb intricate lead guitar solos by Tilbrook.

Their energy and passion never wavered, it was hit after hit and the audience lapped it up, we were led into the interval with a rousing rendition of “Pulling mussels from a shell” Inspired by childhood holidays at Camber sands? Maybe just maybe!

After the break we were treated to three solo tracks from Difford on his acoustic including “Cowboys are my weakness” a song written for K D Lang but never taken up. ” Lang said it was rubbish” he quipped, but it was far from that. Tilbrook returned to duet with his 14 year old son Leon, a promising young musician who impressed immensely.

Then came the biggie’s “Labelled with love”, “Cool for cats” and “Up the junction” . Tilbrook teased, hinting that the lyrics to the latter may have been based on a past relationship but cut short of confirming it, with a twinkle in his eye! They encored with “Another nail in my heart” which brought to an end a most fabulous night.

This duo have a unique chemistry that has stood the test of time and were in great voice, so too were the crowd through to the event sponsors, Stone House Dental Care of Hawkhurst, though they were a little camera shy. Money was raised for charityforkids.co.uk which is are making an difference to families here in Rye and neighbouring Bexhill and Hastings.

The set and play list was stunning, along with the atmospheric backdrop, red and blue lighting flowing through the magnificent architecture of this magical building, highlighting the full splendour of the arches, I for one did not want this fabulous evening to end.

Photo: Micky Day

Photo: Micky Day