Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.

Musical career

Born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

, London, Difford has written lyrics for over 40 years, most notably in partnership with Glenn Tilbrook. The two were primary members in Squeeze and Difford & Tilbrook. According to Difford, he stole 50p from his mother's purse to put a card in a local sweetshop window advertising for a guitarist to join his band, although he did not have one at the time. Tilbrook was the only person who responded to the advert and they met for the first time shortly afterwards. Some of their best-known songs are " Tempted", " Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)", "

Black Coffee in Bed "Black Coffee in Bed" was the first single released from Squeeze's fifth album, '' Sweets from a Stranger''. It peaked at number 51 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1982. Background Chris Difford stated, " e lyric was inspired by my picking up ...

", " Cool for Cats", " Up the Junction" and " Annie Get Your Gun". ChrisDifford2009

After the break-up of Squeeze in 1983 Difford continued writing songs for artists such as Jools Holland,

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as possessing "th ...

, Billy Bremner and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

. He has also written lyrics for music by Jools Holland,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Wet Wet Wet,

Marti Pellow Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 ...

and others. He was involved with Tilbrook and John Turner in the creation of a musical, ''Labelled with Love'', which was created using the songs of Squeeze. The 1983 musical performed in Deptford was short-lived. In 1984 the pair released the album ''Difford and Tilbrook'' and had a minor hit in the UK with ''Love's Crashing Waves'' which reached 57 in the UK charts. In 1985 Squeeze reunited, having hits in the US with '' Babylon and On'', " Hourglass" and " 853-5937". Difford left the group in 1999 launching a solo career in 2003 with his album ''I Didn't Get Where I Am''. Difford was also manager of

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry and ...

and The Strypes. Squeeze reunited again in 2007, and Difford maintains a concurrent solo career alongside his work with the band. In March 2010, Difford curated ''Songs in the Key of London'', an evening of music dedicated to the capital at the Barbican Centre, London. In 2017, Chris published his autobiography ''Some Fantastic Place: My Life In and Out of Squeeze''. Since 2014, Chris has been running the annual Chris Difford Songwriting Retreat, under the auspices of the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, providing an opportunity for artists to collaborate with one another to write new songs and create new friendships in a relaxed setting in the English countryside.Chris DIfford Songwriting Retreat
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Personal life

Difford was raised in Greenwich. He lived in New York with his first wife and their two children. He then lived in Rye, Sussex, with the mother of his two youngest children. Currently, he lives just outside Brighton, Sussex with his wife, Louise, whom he married in April 2013.

Solo discography

* ''I Didn't Get Where I Am'', 2003 * ''South East Side Story'', 2007 * '' The Last Temptation of Chris'', 2008 * ''Cashmere if You Can'', 2011, (SMMC Media SMMC1) * ''Fancy Pants'' ''(with Boo Hewerdine), 2016 (Obvious Productions) * ''Let’s Be Combe Avenue'' (Demos 1972), 2017 (Edsel Records – EDSL 0017) * ''Chris To... The Mill'', 2017 (Compilation) * ''Pants'', 2018

References

External links

Chris Difford official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Difford, Chris 1954 births Living people English baritones English record producers English lyricists English new wave musicians English songwriters Male new wave singers People from Greenwich Squeeze (band) members Ivor Novello Award winners Musicians from London Musicians from Kent