‘We make a full picture’: Squeeze plays Vegas in dual bill with Psychedelic Furs

To understand Chris Difford’s response of how what he’s looking forward to in his upcoming visit to Vegas, know that the chat took place in July.

“I’ve heard a lot about this new building called the Sphere,” the co-founder of Squeeze said during a Zoom chat from his home in London. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

The universality of the Sphere is but a side issue for Difford this weekend. Squeeze plays The Pearl at the Palms on Saturday night in a co-headlining bill with fellow ’80s hitmakers Psychedelic Furs. It’s Squeeze first at 8 p.m., followed by the Furs at 9:45.

Difford and songwriting partner Glenn Tilbrook co-founded Squeeze in the mid-1970s. Within a decade they were a radio and MTV favorite with “Cool for Cats,” “Up the Junction,” “Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed,” and “Hourglass.” The band has played all those hits during its current tour.

The co-founders of Squeeze are known for their lofty vocals. “Tempted” and “Black Coffee in Bed” feature a happily high vocal range.

Difford enjoys listening to those songs, even now, even if that singing range is not his.

“When I first met Glenn in 1973, one of the things that attracted me to working with him was his incredible, effortless voice and his guitar playing, his melody,” Difford said. “And that hasn’t changed, down the years. It’s been 50 years, and I can still honestly say that I can’t sing like that. So I have to sing under the radar a little bit, and together it makes a full picture.”

Difford remains an active songwriter, though the methods and inspirations have changed over the years. He once pulled song ideas from his diary writing. Today, it’s his daily Instagram posts.

“That kind of inspires me, because people like what I write. I find the confines of only having so many characters very interesting, that you can write something you’ve really got to use your imagination,” Difford said. “I like being in that space, and being able to tell a story in those parameters.”

Squeeze and the Furs play 75-minute sets in this dual series.

“For Squeeze, we’ll be playing obviously the songs that people will love us for, our hits, but we’ll also be trying out some things from the past that we haven’t played for a while,” Difford said. “We’ll be revamping them, and that’s something I always enjoy it doing. I think the audience get a buzz off of us playing old songs that they recognize, but doing so differently.”

As always, sing along if you like, and try to reach those high notes.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.