Squeeze Are Cool For Cats As Pyramid Stage Openers At Glastonbury 2024

The forecast for the weekend is set to be fair and factor 50 is the must have accessory at Glastonbury Festival 2024. But for Squeeze, Glasto’s very first act on the Pyramid Stage this year, the sun is yet to break through overcast skies. No matter, if anything can bring a sunny disposition to a field in Somerset, it’s Deptford’s finest export after Dire Straits.

Squeeze @ Glastonbury Festival 2024

Squeeze @ Glastonbury Festival 2024 (Kalpesh Patel)

The band has had many incarnations over the years, though in the latest (2007) version of Squeeze, the only members from the original lineup are Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. No disrespect to everyone else, but if you’ve got Difford and Tilbrook, does it really matter? No, not really to be perfectly honest. Would Yes still be Yes is it only had Jon Anderson? The answer is Yes.

The setlist is an unashamed greatest hits compendium perfectly designed for a festival crowd. There’s only one new song – the as yet unreleased One Beautiful Summer, “A song about two people falling in love in a care home”. No worries, it sounds just like the Squeeze of old.

Whilst Generation Z are still sleeping off last night’s late early hours activity at the Lonely Hearts Club, it’s probably fair enough that a band like Squeeze, playing the very first Pyramid Stage slot on Friday have attracted a crowd of a certain age. And being a crowd of a certain age, it takes a while for the hips to move. But with tunes like Take Me I’m Yours, Hourglass, Up The Junction and Slap And Tickle on offer, you can’t help feel that the band deserve more. At least people are moving as God intended by the time the Difford-led Cool For Cats comes along and at set closer Black Coffee In Bed, everybody is in full swing.

One slight disappointment is a stripped-back rendition of 1981 hit Tempted that teases to take off throughout, but with the full band only coming in at the very end to give it that lift. “You’ve made an old man cry” says Chris Difford shortly before leaving the stage. Having just seen a brilliant replication of the band’s heyday; as the audience disperses from the Pyramid Stage field, he might not have been the only person with a bit of grit in the eye.

Review of Squeeze at Glastonbury Festival 2024 by Simon Reed photos by Kalpesh Patel

The Last Dinner Party Bring Their Feminine Urge To The Other Stage At Glastonbury 2024

Twenty Flight Rockers @ 100 Club (Adrian Hextall)

Twenty Flight Rockers Make A Triumphant Return To London After 39 Years At The 100 Club

It has been 39 years since Twenty Flight Rockers last played in London, but the wait is finally over. Persuaded that the time is right for a reunion, the band have returned for a short run of shows celebrating the release of Live ’85, the live album originally intended to be their debut release. For those of us who remember seeing them in their heyday, this is a chance to revisit a band whose rockabilly-fuelled energy has clearly lost none of its appeal. I can hardly believe it has been almost four decades since I last saw them perform.

RAYE @ All Points East 2023 (Dnieper Cruz)

RAYE Brings Her Mercury Prize Winning ‘THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE’ To BST Hyde Park 2027

RAYE is set to make her BST Hyde Park debut next summer, joining the 2027 line-up as its second headliner. The South London-born singer-songwriter will take to the Great Oak Stage on Saturday 10th July, with rising star Sienna Spiro confirmed as a very special guest. Further artists are still to be announced.

Lip Critic @ Revenge - Mutations Festival 2026 (Owen Mills)

Mutations Festival 2026 – Friday: From Harp Strings To Bedlam And Everything In Between

Ever since first attending Mutations in 2022, I have described it as a more manageable, densely packed version of The Great Escape. Since the festival condensed into two days, that description has become even more apt. Spanning multiple genres and a good selection of the city’s venues, it is a no-brainer for local live music fans looking to broaden their horizons and discover their next favourite band.

Arabella Lucia @ B.R.A.T. Denmark Street (Henry Finnegan / @finneganfoto)

Arabella Lucia Strips Back The Rock And Roll At Yungblud’s B.R.A.T Cave

Beneath London’s Denmark Street, in the intimate, sweat-soaked surroundings of Yungblud’s B.R.A.T Cave, Arabella Lucia trades the full-band electricity of her usual performances for an acoustic set that puts her voice, songwriting and personality firmly in the spotlight. For the self-proclaimed Rockstar Princess, this is an opportunity to reveal the vulnerability beneath the punk-rock attitude, and to show just how much she is developing as an artist.

Desperate Measures @ Hope and Anchor (Louise Phillips)

Desperate Measures Celebrate 45 Years With A Raucous Punk Birthday Party At The Hope And Anchor

Forty-five years on, Desperate Measures remain as combustible as ever. Presented by Vive Le Rock Magazine, this anniversary party at The Hope & Anchor on Saturday 24th October 2026 brings the New Zealand punk veterans together with two energetic support acts for a night of fast guitars, furious vocals and unapologetic attitude. Having reformed in London around a decade ago, the band are now preparing for a homecoming tour of New Zealand next May. First, though, there is unfinished business to attend to on home turf.

Serra Marinheiro Casts A Spell With New Single ‘spells in my living room’

Singer-songwriter Serra Marinheiro continues her creative rebirth with spells in my living room, a captivating new single that further establishes the sound and identity of an artist embracing a newfound confidence and freedom of expression following her departure from her former musical project, POESY.

The Wellermen Announce Debut Original Album ‘Homeward Bound’ And Unveil New Single ‘Samhain’

Transatlantic folk collective The Wellermen are set to take a major step forward with the announcement of their new album, Homeward Bound, arriving on 12th March. Marking the group’s first full-length collection of original, self-written material, the 13-track record sees the five-piece draw on their diverse musical backgrounds to create a collection rooted in traditional folk storytelling, rich harmonies and contemporary songwriting.

SoJo Turns Heartbreak Into A New Beginning With ‘Arena For Love’ Ahead Of Debut Album ‘Feeling Free’

Singer-songwriter SoJo transforms personal heartbreak into an uplifting declaration of independence with her new single Arena For Love, released ahead of her debut album, Feeling Free, arriving on 4th December.