Squeeze – happy ending?

I'm travelling to Harrogate today to see Squeeze.

We could have seen them closer to home but the Cambridge Corn Exchange is an all-standing venue and I don't fancy standing for the best part of three hours.

Anyway I quite like Harrogate so it's no hardship.

The first time I saw Squeeze was in Aberdeen in 1978. I was a student, it was the day after my 19th birthday, and they were supporting Eddie and the Hot Rods and Radio Stars.

Tickets at the old Capitol Theatre in Union Street were £2.50 and £2 seats, £1.50 standing. Even in those days I insisted on sitting.

In 1982 I was living in London when I saw them at Hammersmith Palais, a horribly sweaty nightclub also known as "London's most famous old dancehall".

The band broke up a few months later but when they reformed I caught them at Hammersmith Apollo (1985 and 1989) and Glasgow Concert Hall (1993).

I saw them twice at the Royal Albert Hall as well (most recently in 2011) but I don't think it suits them. They're better in smaller, more intimate venues.

Anyway, here we are in 2015 and the band is currently touring to promote a new album Cradle to the Grave which featured on the soundtrack of the TV adaptation of Danny Baker's autobiography.

Harrogate is the last show of the tour and I had to buy our seats at a slightly inflated price via the secondary ticket agency Seatwave. (Market forces in action!)

By coincidence (or perhaps I just have great taste), the support act is John Cooper Clarke who I also saw in Aberdeen in 1978 when he supported Be Bop Deluxe.