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Chris
Difford
Chris
Difford is a singer, songwriter and record producer. For almost 30 years he has
written lyrics, most notably in partnership with Glenn Tilbrook. The two were
principal members in Squeeze and later Difford & Tilbrook. Some of their
best-known songs are ‘Tempted’, ‘Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)’,
‘Black Coffee in Bed’, ‘Cool for Cats’ and ‘Up the Junction’ and
‘Annie Get Your Gun’. Difford
has also written lyrics to music by Jools Holland, Elton John, Wet Wet Wet,
Marti Pellow and others. In 2004, Lisa Stansfield released the Trevor Horn
produced single, ‘If I Hadn't Got You’, co-written by Difford with Chris
Braide, which became a hit in Europe. In
addition to his work with Squeeze, he has released three solo albums: I
Didn't Get Where I Am (2003), South East Side Story (2007), a DVD recording
of Squeeze's greatest hits, which featured a bonus disk with Difford singing
acoustic versions of his favourite ten Squeeze tracks, and The Last
Temptation of Chris (2008).
Q:
Do you think of your lyrics as poetry?
A: It has always seemed
like it to me, I used to write poetry at school but it quickly became lyrics and
then songs
Q: Do you think it is
important that songs rhyme and if so why?
A:
No not at all, nursery rhymes are wonderful and they make great song lyrics, I
like to rhyme as it is tradition but its not a must to do so
Q: Do you think song
lyrics must conform to recognised song structures such as clear rhyming schemes,
choruses, refrains, hooks and bridges or that songs can also be like free verse?
A: Lyrics can be both,
there are no rules when I'm writing, I take each song lyric as it come....
Q: When you read poetry in school or elsewhere did you recognize any
connection to the music you enjoyed?
A: All the time, and I
loved King Crimson when I was a boy and their lyrics were very much poetry....
at
least to me
Q: Was there anything about poetry in books that influenced your
songwriting?
A: Spike Milligan....
The
Beatles songbook..... and romantic poets like Tennyson
Q: Why do you think
songs are more popular with people than poetry is?
A: Because they are
hooked in with music and music moves people in a way the spoken word can not....
its lazy but its true...
copyright
© Chris Difford |