CHRIS DIFFORD TO UNLEASH NEW MATERIAL WITH PIONEERING NEW SERVICE

Chris Difford, double Ivor Novello winner and founder member of the iconic and newly reformed Squeeze, continues to innovate and surprise with his new album ‘Chris, That And The Other’, the first release on brand new digital distribution venture ‘Saturday Morning Music Club’.

Rather than selling a CD or digital album of 12 songs through the usual channels, Difford aims to give fans more for their money than the standard iTunes mp3 and jpeg. Over the course of a 12-week period, a “cluster” of media will be delivered direct to fans’ desktops each Saturday morning: the week’s lead album track, 2 b-sides, videos, photos and handwritten lyrics and notes – all for only one price.

All the content will be delivered straight to a single desktop application, which will allow users instant access to the music and other content – which can then be saved to the computer or transferred to portable devices. Media content will not be DRM-protected. Latecomers to the Saturday Morning Music Club need not worry about missing out as once material is made available it stays that way.

“It’s not an album, it’s an experience” says Difford. “Like in my childhood, the excitement of rushing to the record shop every Saturday … I’d love to bring that feeling back to buying music”. A single, ‘Like I Did’, will precede both the Music Club and a run of solo dates, while a physical release of the album is due for much later in the year.

Chris Difford is no stranger to giving back to his fans and the music community. He continually runs music-writing workshops, is involved in music therapy as well as teaching, while he is due to curate the inaugural ‘Songs In The Key of London’ concert at the Barbican on March 9th – this will bring together Difford, current and former Squeeze bandmates Glenn Tilbrook and Jools Holland, as well as the likes of Suggs, Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets) and more, singing their favourite songs about London.

As for the record itself, ‘Chris, That And The Other’ is Difford’s third solo album, following 2007’s very well received ‘Last Temptation Of Chris’. It was recorded at The Pool in South East London and Jools Holland’s Helicon Mountain Studios, and produced by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno / David Byrne).

‘Chris, That And The Other’ is only the tip of the iceberg in what is sure to be another action-packed year, as Squeeze become recipients of one of the coveted PRS Heritage Plaques in March, marking the location of their first ever gig in what has now become the Greenwich Dance Academy. Following this, Squeeze are all set for an eagerly awaited tour that will visit both sides of the Atlantic in the second half of 2010.
www.chrisdifford.com

 Chris Difford: Lyricist Producer and Solo Performer.

Double Ivor Novello Award-winning Chris Difford has been writing lyrics for over twenty five years, most notably with Squeeze. After 13 albums and many top 20 hits, 32 American tours, 30 UK tours and various trips around the globe, Chris decided to stop the merry-go-round and test the waters. His first solo album, I Didn’t Get Where I Am…was released in 2001; a live release, South East Side Story, soon followed before reconvening with songwriting partner Glenn Tilbrook in a Squeeze line-up also featuring early bassist John Bentley for their first UK tour in nine years (“it’s hard to remember when Squeeze were ever quite as good as this first time around,” enthused US trade bible Billboard).

Difford’s second solo album on Stiff records came out earlier this year, co produced and written by Boo Hewerdine: The Last Temptation Of Chris received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and further secured Chris’s position as one of the greatest lyricists of our time. Songs like “Tempted”, “Up the Junction”, “Cool for Cats” and “Black Coffee in Bed” still find steady airplay on UK and US radio. Squeeze released The Big Squeeze, a compilation of singles and B sides that went straight into the UK Top 10 album chart , proving the timeless appeal of their music. A live album from their 2007 tour soon followed.

Chris has written with Elton John, Trilok Gurtu, Marti Pellow, Lamont Dozier, Willie Mitchell, Bryan Ferry and many others. He continues to run his own songwriting workshops and pass on the benefit of his weighty experience as a died-in-the-wool song man. Hurst House in Wales is the new venue for his songwriters week, and this year 19 writers came together to create 35 new songs. This is a passion he has been working on for 16 years.

Helioscentric, a studio he built in 1995 still runs today; it has attracted such names as The Pet Shop Boys, Paul Weller, Keane, Scouting for Girls, Elvis Costello and many others.

Five years ago Chris scripted the lyrics for the film Still Crazy, this won him his first Ivor Novello Award, a proud moment for the mantelpiece. The film documented the insane life of a rock band in the 70s, something he knew a little about! His second Ivor was presented by Mark Ronson, a life long fan - Chris and Glenn accepted their Lifetime Achievement in June this year. A Nordoff Robins Silver Clef Icon award soon followed , presented by Lily Allen, also a huge fan – who compared herself presenting an award to them with an Eastender’s actor presenting an award to Robert DeNiro.

In 1984, Chris, with Glenn Tilbrook, wrote a musical called ‘Labelled with Love’; it ran for three months in London and this remains one of his fondest memories of working with Glenn. Squeeze are resting before summer dates in 2009 and a new album early 2010. In the meantime Chris is working as Creative Director to Hurst House in Wales, a hotel with a rich musical menu, including a live TV show and studio in progress! He is also writing new songs for his next album while teaching songwriting at BIMM in Brighton. A busy creative time. The tour in ‘09 will showcase new songs and will be performed alongside a projector and screen, from which will be shown images relating to the songs of the set.