Squeeze at the Greenwich Summer Sessions

Growing up in South East London, little traces of Squeeze were scattered about over the decades: a friend's house used to belong to one of them, a local restaurant was the 'favourite' of another, members performed a benefit concert for a local school here, and composed a tribute to a Blackheath alleyway there. They are to South East London as Joy Division is to Manchester. If you don't like Squeeze, you have no business being here. Or anywhere.


Last night, supported by the excellent Turin Brakes, they played the Greenwich Summer Sessions at the old Naval College, so it was time for Brockley Central to pay homage.

In a suit and close-cropped hair, Glenn Tilbrook looks like Ray Winstone's kindlier brother, with a voice as strong and clear as it ever was. Chris Difford's voice is the perfect raspy compliment, but a little weak when he takes the lead - with the exception of his Cool for Cats, which was the show's stand out moment.

The crowd, in beautifully-lit surroundings that would make an Oxford May Ball weep, was, as one BC tweeter put it, "the most civilised I have ever seen" except during Take Me I'm Yours, when middle aged women in sensible shoes became maenads and the area in front of stage where a mosh pit should be became an erotic swirl of fleece tops and grown-up hair cuts. Hipsters who'd come to pay their respects to Squeeze stood and marvelled.

During the week, Mark Ronson proved the venue was perfect for a wake. Last night, Squeeze showed it works just as well for a homecoming.

Members of the band return for a concert on Sunday called Songs in the Key of London, doors open at 17.30pm.