An original member of the hugely popular rock band Squeeze is set to perform in Carlisle next year.

Chris Difford, a founding member and songwriter, will appear alongside steel guitarist Melvin Duffy, who joined the band in 2019. 

Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2010s.

In the UK, their singles Cool for Cats, Up the Junction, and Labelled with Love were top-ten chart hits.

Chris said: "I will be playing songs from the Squeeze catalogue and from the solo albums I have recorded over the last 23 years.

"My story is told through stand up and some sit down, a trip back to my council estate in South London, from my very first lyrical expression to the dressing rooms of this show.

"My new songs written with Boo Hewerdine tell a story of celebration, 25 years writing lyrics and playing on stages big and small. A journey I look back on with great fondness and gratitude.

"I can't wait to climb back on stage and perform, although I have been shy in the past I now find myself feasting on the here and now deep within the shell-like of your ear. I will be joined on stage by Melvin Duffy on his peddle steel and together we will deliver an evening of warm and I hope funny stories.

"Melvin's playing is outstanding and I feel so lucky to have him as my sideman, he cries over the songs and always makes them sound amazing. Not Only But Also is not just a look back on 50 lyrical years, it's a journey that asks, what happened? What happened to all those years and mates I grew up with before I formed a band."

Chris and Melvin are set to perform at the Old Fire Station on Thursday, February 1, 2024, with the doors opening at 7.30pm before the show starts at 8pm.

Tickets cost £24 and are available to buy on the Old Fire Station website.