uided by the redoubtable songwriting team of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, enduring South London quintet Squeeze have created one of the most covetable – and quintessentially English – catalogs in pop. The budding teenage singer-songwriters founded the band in 1974, taking their name from The Velvet Underground’s obscure final LP, recorded after the departure of mainstays Lou Reed and John Cale. The band’s “classic” line-up, saw Difford and Tilbrook supplemented by powerhouse drummer Gilson Lavis, bassist Harri Kakoulli and prodigiously gifted pianist Jools Holland.

One of the many diamonds in the Squeeze discography, the band’s third studio album Argybargy helped swell the band’s Stateside popularity, cracking the Top 75 of the Billboard 200 and going gold in Canada. Another sparkling pop record, the 1980 release included two popular singles in Top 20 smash “Another Nail For My Heart” and “Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)” – a vivid portrait of a British seaside vacation – along with vivacious cuts such as the wonderful “Separate Beds,” wherein Difford’s brilliant lyric recounted the awkwardness of a young man staying over at his girlfriend’s parents’ house for the first time.

Argybargy made it abundantly clear that Squeeze would outlast England’s new wave pop pack.