Messed Around
{{More citations needed|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Messed Around
| cover = Squeeze messed around cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Squeeze
| album = East Side Story
| released = 1981 (US)
| recorded = 1980
| studio =
| venue =
| length = 2:40
| label = A&M
| writer = Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook
| producer =Roger Bechirian, Elvis Costello
| prev_title = Labelled with Love
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = Black Coffee in Bed
| next_year = 1982
}}
"Messed Around" is a US single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story.
Background
Author Jim Drury posed that the song was one which ex-Squeeze member Jools Holland may have enjoyed playing on, to which Glenn Tilbrook said, "Yeah. There was definitely a feeling of 'See what you're missing out on, Jools. Look at all the fun you could be having.' Paul [Carrack] did a great job on it and we recorded it virtually live in the studio."{{cite book|last1=Tillbrook|first1=Glenn|last2=Difford|first2=Chris|last3=Drury|first3=Jim|title=Squeeze: Song by Song|publisher=Sanctuary}} Tillbrook also said that the "song showed what a great band we had at the time, one of Squeeze's strongest line-ups."
Chris Difford said "it actually sounds like Jools [Holland] playing on it. It's a breathtaking solo by Paul. Piano playing does not get any better than that. When we recorded this I felt as though I'd finally arrived, that I was in a proper band with real men. Glenn's guitar sounds very Scotty Moore, with a distant amplifier. It's reminiscent of one of Glenn's earlier solos from when we were younger and a great way to end an album."
Tilbrook also claimed that the song was inspired by the Stray Cats.{{cite web |last1=Fanelli |first1=Damian |title=Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze Talks Gear, Guitar Solos and Future Plans |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-guitarist-glenn-tilbrook-squeeze-discusses-gear-guitar-solos-influences-and-future-plans |website=Guitar World |accessdate=20 October 2020 |language=en |date=May 2012}}
Record World said that "Glenn Tilbrook's ultra-cool rockabilly inflections are supported by the band's tasteful piano sprinkles and guitar licks, creating an authentic late-'50s sound."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=3 October 1981|page=10|accessdate=2023-03-01|title=Single Picks|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-10-03.pdf}}
Track listing
- "Messed Around" (2:40)
- "Yap Yap Yap" (4:13)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050816200821/http://www.squeezenet.co.uk/ Squeeze discography at Squeezenet]
{{Squeeze}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Glenn Tilbrook
Category:Songs written by Chris Difford
Category:Song recordings produced by Elvis Costello
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