Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) (1980)
Imagine being a band so good but you're constantly under the radar your entire career. That was the deal with Squeeze, especially here in the U.S. So many great songs...hell, even trying to pick one for this feature took me a while because I kept changing my mind.
Formed in 1974 by guitarists-singers Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, the band played around London for a few years and released a couple of singles before John Cale produced their first EP and self-titled debut album. Their second album, 1979's Cool for Cats, scored hits with the title track and "Up the Junction," which both went to #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
I became aware of Squeeze with their third album, Argybargy, which was released in February 1980. "Another Nail in My Heart" started getting play on the radio in Toronto, sort of lumped in with the new wave of British music that rejuvenating the rock world at the time. The album was also the first to get recognized in the U.S., hitting #71 on the Billboard 200.
Squeeze was proudly British, as the album title exemplifies; their manager told them nobody in the U.S. would know what "argybargy" meant, but they insisted (it's a British expression for a lively discussion or argument). Turns out it didn't matter. Squeeze's super-catchy pop featured clever lyrics by Difford and strong musicianship that transcended any cultural differences.
The first track on the album and third single, "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," is a great example of the band's greatness. Written by Difford about his experiences at a seaside resort where UK working class families would go to vacation. These seaside villages would have older folks in the shops, families getting away from the city, and then other stuff going on. The term "pulling mussels" is a British slang term for a sex act; the chorus refers to young people trying to hook up with strangers behind the chalet on the beach.
"Squinting faces at the sky/A Harold Robbins paperback/Surfers drop their boards and dry/And everybody wants a hat/But behind the chalet/My holiday's complete/And I feel like William Tell/Maid Marian on her tiptoed feet/Pulling mussels from a shell/Pulling mussels from a shell."
Most listeners probably missed the sexual connotations because the song's so bouncy and Tilbrook's vocals are so pleasant. Meanwhile, the band is cooking musically, with both a Tilbrook guitar solo and a piano solo from Jools Holland. Just a pop classic.
I never bought a Squeeze album until the late '80s, but I did tape the amazing comp Singles, 45s and Under off one of my college roommates and listened to that constantly. Just banger after banger: "Take Me I'm Yours," "Cool For Cats," "Up the Junction," "Slap & Tickle" "Another Nail in My Heart," "Tempted," "If I Didn't Love You." Just an embarrassment of riches. Alas, I only saw them in concert once, at Endicott College in the early '90s, and they were excellent.
Squeeze actually split up after 1982's Sweets from a Stranger album, although the two lead dudes released an album as a duo called Difford & Tilbrook in 1984 that is now considered an unofficial Squeeze album. They reformed in 1985 and played together through 1999, although the lineup was constantly changing; Aimee Mann actually toured with the band in 1994, playing songs by her and Squeeze. Difford and Tilbrook reformed Squeeze in 2007 and have released three albums since and are still together.
The best thing about writing this is I've been listening to Squeeze songs all afternoon.
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