Editing Squeeze (band) (section)

===Second incarnation: 1985–1999===
Squeeze re-formed to play a one night charity [[concert|gig]] in 1985, with all five members from the 1980 ''Argybargy'' period—Difford, Tilbrook, Holland, Lavis, and Bentley. The performance was such a success that the band unanimously agreed to resume [[sound recording and reproduction|recording]] and touring as Squeeze. Searching for a different sound, the band replaced Bentley with bassist Keith Wilkinson from the ''Difford & Tilbrook'' sessions. This line-up released the 1985 LP ''[[Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti]]''.

The new LP featured complex double-tracked keyboard parts which could not be duplicated by a single keyboard player in a live setting; hence, Jools' brother Christopher Holland, then aged 17, played and toured as a second keyboardist in 1985. Christopher had also played [[Hammond organ]] on the album's fourth single "Heartbreaking World", which was sung by Jools Holland. However, Christopher Holland's tenure was short-lived, for he had signed to [[I.R.S. Records]] and was pursuing a solo career, so he was replaced by an official new member: [[Andy Metcalfe]] of [[The Soft Boys]] and [[Robyn Hitchcock|The Egyptians]]. A bassist in those groups, Metcalfe played keyboards with Squeeze. His tenure as the band's sixth member lasted until 1988.

In 1987, the sextet recorded the album ''[[Babylon and On]]''. A successful release on both sides of the Atlantic, this album contained the band's only US top 40 hits in "[[Hourglass (Squeeze song)|Hourglass]]" and "[[853-5937]]".

Metcalfe left the band in 1988, leaving the Difford / Tilbrook / Holland / Wilkinson / Lavis line-up to record 1989's ''[[Frank (Squeeze album)|Frank]]''. The LP was a commercial disappointment, from which no charting singles were taken in the UK, and the band was dropped from their long-time label A&M.

Adding a new second keyboard player in the person of [[Matt Irving]], the band issued the live album ''[[A Round and a Bout]]'' on I.R.S. Records in March 1990. Jools Holland left Squeeze again in early 1990, and was not immediately replaced. In his stead, the band used session musicians such as Irving (who was no longer an official band member), [[Steve Nieve]], and [[Bruce Hornsby]] for the 1991 release ''[[Play (Squeeze album)|Play]]'', which came out on the Reprise label. This release again spawned no UK hits, although in the US the singles "Satisfied" and "Crying in My Sleep" received significant airplay on modern rock stations, and in Canada "Satisfied" was a top 50 hit. However, Reprise dropped the band after this album. Following this, drummer Gilson Lavis was let go in 1992, and replaced by Nieve's [[The Attractions|Attractions]] bandmate [[Pete Thomas (drummer)|Pete Thomas]]. Paul Carrack also returned to the band in 1993.

Squeeze re-signed to A&M in time for 1993's ''[[Some Fantastic Place]]''. After a period of commercial decline in the UK, lead single "Third Rail" hit No.&nbsp;39, becoming Squeeze's first UK [[Top 40]] hit in six years.<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />

Squeeze's line-up during the mid-1990s changed constantly.{{Cn|date=January 2023}} The American songwriter [[Aimee Mann]] toured as part of the band in 1994, playing both Mann and Squeeze songs.<ref name="stereogum">{{cite web |author=Bleggi |first=Doug |date=21 November 2018 |title='Til Today: 25 years after her solo debut, Aimee Mann looks back |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2021942/aimee-mann-early-solo-albums-interview/franchises/interview/ |access-date=8 February 2019 |website=[[Stereogum]]}}</ref> Thomas exited the band that year, and Carrack doubled on snare and keyboards for a few gigs before session drummer [[Andy Newmark]] was brought in. Then—still in 1994—Carrack left, which allowed keyboardist Andy Metcalfe to return to the band for a short spell, playing on some live dates. Drummer [[Kevin Wilkinson]] (no relation to bassist Keith), formerly of [[The Waterboys]] and [[China Crisis]], was also added around this time, replacing Newmark. He lasted through the 1995 album ''[[Ridiculous (album)|Ridiculous]]'', which was recorded by the quartet of Difford, Tilbrook, Wilkinson and Wilkinson. The album spun off three minor hits in the UK: "This Summer", "Electric Trains" and "Heaven Knows". ("Heaven Knows" was used as the closing song in the 1995 film ''[[Hackers (film)|Hackers]]'' starring [[Angelina Jolie]].) In addition, a minimally remixed version of "This Summer" became a No.&nbsp;32 UK hit in 1996, a year after the original version peaked at No.&nbsp;36. Despite this, A&M once again dropped Squeeze from their roster in late 1996.<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />

Following the release of ''Ridiculous'', [[Don Snow]] (now known as Jonn Savannah) returned to Squeeze yet again as their touring keyboard player, but by 1997, the Squeeze line-up had officially dwindled down to just Difford and Tilbrook. That year the duo, billed as Squeeze, released the non-album single "Down in the Valley" as a fundraising single for [[Charlton Athletic F.C.]] Tilbrook formed the Quixotic label for this and future Squeeze-related releases, as well as releases by other artists.

For the 1998 album ''[[Domino (Squeeze album)|Domino]]'', the band was again a quintet consisting of Difford, Tilbrook, bassist [[Hilaire Penda]], ex-[[Del Amitri]] drummer [[Ashley Soan]], and yet another returning keyboardist in the person of Christopher Holland. [[Nick Harper]] often performed with this version of Squeeze as a guest touring musician, providing additional guitar and vocals. In January 1999, just days before a planned tour, Chris Difford suddenly announced that he was taking a "hiatus" from Squeeze. The last venue at which Squeeze played with Difford was at The Charlotte, [[Leicester]], England. The band subsequently continued as a quartet led by Tilbrook, with [[Jim Kimberley]] replacing Soan on some tour dates, and Christopher Holland exiting in the autumn to be replaced by Tilbrook's other frequent writing partner [[Chris Braide]].

On 27 November 1999, in [[Aberdeen]], [[Scotland]], Squeeze played their final gig before breaking up again. Difford and Tilbrook embarked on separate solo careers shortly thereafter.<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />