Chris Difford

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Chris Difford

| image = Difford.Chris Sept2013.jpeg

| caption = Difford in September 2013

| image_size = 300px

| birth_name = Christopher Henry Difford

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1954|11|4}}

| birth_place = Greenwich, London, England

| origin =

| instrument = Vocals, guitar

| genre =

| occupation = Musician, songwriter, record producer, singer

| years_active =

| label =

| website = [http://www.chrisdifford.com/ chrisdifford.com]

}}

Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954){{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/237168-Chris-Difford|title=Chris Difford|website=Discogs.com|access-date=26 October 2023}} is an English musician. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.

Early life

Difford was born in Greenwich, London, on 4 November 1954, the youngest of three sons. His mother, Isabel (née Hamilton) was from Northern Ireland and met Difford's father Sidney Lewis Difford (1919–2001) while he was stationed in Belfast during World War II.{{cite book |last1=Difford |first1=Chris |title=Some Fantastic Place: My Life In and Out of Squeeze |date=31 August 2017 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=9781474605694 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8j7eDQAAQBAJ&q=%22squeeze%22+%22bowie%22+influence+tilbrook |access-date=12 February 2024}}

Music career

Difford has written lyrics for over 50 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.{{cite episode| title= Mick Fleetwood, Matt Berry, Imtiaz Dharker, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, GoGo Penguin| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04nqpdb| series = Loose Ends| credits = Presenters: Clive Anderson| network = BBC| station = BBC Radio Four| airdate = 8 November 2014| minutes = 20:50}} Some of their best-known songs are "Tempted", "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)", "Black Coffee in Bed", "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction" and "Annie Get Your Gun".

File:ChrisDifford2009.jpg, October 2009, in aid of the PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music Members' Benevolent Fund.]]

After the break-up of Squeeze in 1983, Difford continued writing songs for artists such as Jools Holland,{{AllMusic |class=album |id=570885 |label=Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues – Jools Holland |first=Cub |last=Koda |access-date=25 November 2011}} Helen Shapiro, Billy Bremner and Elvis Costello. He has also written lyrics for music by Jools Holland, Elton John,{{cite web | url=http://www.discogs.com/Elton-John-The-Duets-Collection/release/4494872 | title=Elton John – The Duets Collection | website=Discogs.com | access-date=19 September 2013}} Wet Wet Wet,{{cite web | url=http://www.discogs.com/Wet-Wet-Wet-The-Little-Picture/release/4267432 | title=Wet Wet Wet – The Little Picture | website=Discogs.com| access-date=19 September 2013}} Marti Pellow 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.thedukedeptford.com/music.html | title=The Duke | website=Thedukedeptford.com | access-date=19 September 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053254/http://www.thedukedeptford.com/music.html | archive-date=21 September 2013 | df=dmy-all }} 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 Singles Chart.{{cite web | url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/difford%20%26%20tilbrook/ | title=Difford and Tilbrook – UK Charts | website=Officialcharts.com | access-date=19 September 2013}} In 1985, Squeeze reunited, having hits in the US with the album Babylon and On, plus the singles "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.{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-difford-mn0000111151/biography | title=Chris Difford | website=AllMusic | access-date=19 September 2013}} Difford was also manager of Bryan Ferry{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/chris-difford-its-a-bit-of-a-squeeze-784269.html | title=Chris Difford: It's a bit of a Squeeze |newspaper=The Independent | date=20 February 2008 | access-date=20 September 2013 | author=Duerden, Nick}} and The Strypes. Squeeze reunited again in 2007, and Difford maintained 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.{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/live-music-reviews/7415531/Songs-in-the-Key-of-London-at-the-Barbican-review.html | title=Songs in the Key of London at the Barbican, review | newspaper=The Daily Telegraph | date=10 March 2010 | access-date=19 September 2013 | author=Green, Thomas H}}

In 2017, Difford published his autobiography, Some Fantastic Place: My Life In and Out of Squeeze.

Since 2014, Difford has been running the annual Chris Difford Songwriting Retreat, under the auspices of the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation,{{Cite web|url=https://www.tbhef.org/|title=The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation|website=Tbhef.org|access-date=26 October 2023}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tbhef.org/chris-difford-songwriting-retreat/|title=Chris Difford Songwriting Retreat|website=Tbhef.org|access-date=26 October 2023}}

In August 2021, Difford launched a podcast series, I Never Thought It Would Happen, with the charity Help Musicians, a charity he is an ambassador for, speaking to guests including Sting, Robbie Williams and KT Tunstall about the highs and lows of life in music. {{Cite web |title=I Never Thought It Would Happen |url=https://open.spotify.com/show/5GgFQRk3hYLT4thfrnTylZ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Spotify |language=en}}

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.{{cite web | url=http://www.essentialsurrey.co.uk/showtime/interview-with-chris-difford/ | title=Magic Summer Live: An interview with Chris Difford. | website=Essentialsurrey.co.uk | date=8 July 2013 | access-date=20 September 2013 | archive-date=20 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820072820/http://www.essentialsurrey.co.uk/showtime/interview-with-chris-difford/ | url-status=bot: unknown }}