Hello and welcome to the latest Squire Fan Club Newsletter. First of all, thank you to everyone who bought the latest release, 'Girl On A Train'!
Click on the sleeves photo above to link to the order page, if you haven't already added the record to your collection!
Lots of you bought both colour versions and they make a great set! We enjoyed the many comments and photos posted on the Squire Facebook Group page! You are all invited to join the group and here is a link to that page.
The series of singles has certainly caught everyone’s imagination and it's fun to revisit Squire's timeline in chronological order.
'Girl On a Train' signalled the return of Squire to the live stage. It has always been the paradox of Squire that although the recorded output sometimes invites the assessment of ‘lightweight’ because of the overall pop influence and three-piece ensemble sound, in fact Squire live is nothing but! ...as anyone who has actually seen Squire live can attest!!
The performance is always dynamic and frenetic, with an energy that captures the spirit of the mod mayhem you might have witnessed had you experienced bands like The Who as they emerged in similar small clubs like the 100 Club in the mid 1960s. Dave Thompson sums up Squire eloquently when reviewing the 1982 'Fan Club Album' for the All Music Guide!…
“a fiery live sequence that reminds listeners just how ill-suited many of these bands were to the studio environment -- and just how readily Squire bucked that trend. Their natural habitat remained the sweat- and beer-soaked atmosphere of a tiny club packed with parkas and Union Jacks, and the seven live songs here are delivered with a frenzy that can readily be compared to a maniacal cross between vintage Jam and classic Kinks. But the studio held no fears and, if you can image the first Beatles album slammed through the sound of classic Flamin' Groovies, with all the wide-eyed enthusiasm and tunefulness that that implies, you'll be close to capturing the sheer joy of Squire.”
The Fan Club Album live sequence is a small snapshot of a longer gig performed at Moonrakers Ballroom, Swindon on Saturday September 4th 1982. Following on from Anthony, Kevin and Jon’s debut performances in Surrey to try out the new line up and set, Squire headlined the Ilford Mod Alldayer on 18th July, and then the band established a regular Thursday night residency at The 100 Club, Oxford Street, London, attended by the original mod revival and new emerging mod audience, and a Saturday Matinee residency at the Le Beat Route Club in Greek Street Soho enjoyed by a younger cohort that made up much of the Fan Club. So Squire could be found playing twice a week in Central London!
The full set list at the time reveals a bridge between the 1979 mod set, to the upcoming Get Smart album with 'Saturday Shopping' and 'I Don’t Get Satisfaction' included from Hits From 3000 Years Ago, and 'You’re The One', 'Every Trick (In The Book of Love)', already in its revised form, and the original arrangement of 'Stop That Girl', debuting from the expected new album.
On Thursday 9th September, Squire played the 100 Club with the above set, supported by Small World.
We have an exclusive, never heard before, recording of the Squire performance captured on a side of a C90 cassette, hence a 45 minute blast captures most of a very special gig! The concert is perhaps even more revealing and thrilling than the Fan Club Album set! You can hear the excitement of the London audience, the familiarity and colloquial banter of the regular attendees, the announcement of the new album, the invitation to see Squire again at the upcoming Saturday Le Beat Route gig - its all here!
The set has been uploaded to YouTube for you to enjoy, and includes the following songs:
Don’t Cry To Me
Ive Got You On My Mind
Saturday Shopping
My Mind Goes Round In Circles
Does Stephanie Know?
I Know A Girl
Girl On A Train
B-A-B-Y Baby Love
Stop That Girl
The Youth Of Today (Are Gonna Make It)
You’re The One
The Young Idea
Every Trick (In The Book Of Love)
Live Without Her Love
Has Our Love Gone Bad
Walking Down The Kings Road
Noonday Underground
Please remember to subscribe to the Squire Fan Club emails (link below) to ensure you are invited to enjoy these special Squire moments!
All The Best from Squire