Jools Holland Reunites With Squeeze for First Time Since 1990
jools holland reunited with Squeeze on Sunday’s Later… with Jools Holland for the first time since 1990. He and the band’s Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook played Squeeze’s 1978 debut single, Take Me I’m Yours. The return puts the original lineup back on Two and iPlayer in a slot that reaches a wider prime-time audience.
1974 to 1990
Holland formed Squeeze in 1974 with Tilbrook and Difford when he was 15. He left in 1980, then came back in 1985 for a five-year stint, so this latest appearance carried the weight of a reunion that had been out of reach for decades. Sunday’s performance closed that gap without pretending the history had disappeared.
Holland said people have kept asking whether he is going back to Squeeze. “Just because of circumstances really, it’s never worked out,” he said. “There was even offers in America, there was a TV show that tried to get us together but one thing or another it hasn’t worked out.” The line matters because it shows this was not a casual guest slot; it was the first time the group had played together on the show since 1990.
Trixies at the piano
At the piano, Squeeze spoke with Holland about Trixies, their first album of new music in eight years. The record is built as a collection of stories set in a fictional night club called Trixies, with the stories written by Difford at 19 and Tilbrook at 16. Holland’s comments on the songs made the reunion feel like a working session, not nostalgia for its own sake: “We made great music together and I’m very proud to be part of it. It’s great to have you here. Thank you very much for joining us.”
Holland also told them, “I loved hearing all these songs because I mean, you have a catalogue of extraordinary songs. Everybody’s covered your songs and they range from songs – to put it simply – are like ones that Burt Bacharach might have written, or ones that might have been written for sort of a rock and roll band.” That is the sharpest read here: Squeeze still have enough catalog strength to make a reunion feel like programming, not filler.
Two at 10pm
The new series of Later... with Jools Holland begins on Sunday at 10pm on 2 and iPlayer, with guests including Niall Horan, James Blake, Joe Bonamassa, Ashley McBryde, Arlo Parks, Ellie Goulding, Lola Young, Shania Twain and Jessie Ware. Horan made his debut on the show with the title track from his forthcoming fourth album Dinner Party and a world premiere of Tastes So Good.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: the reunion already happened on the opening night, and the series launch now has a built-in moment that bridges Holland’s history with Squeeze and the show’s current booking power. If this performance is the hook, the schedule is the payoff.
