| "Up the Junction" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Squeeze | ||||
| from the album Cool for Cats | ||||
| Released | May 18, 1979 (UK) | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | New Wave, Post punk | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook | |||
| Producer | John Wood & Squeeze | |||
| Squeeze singles chronology | ||||
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"Up the Junction" was the third single released from Squeeze's second album, Cool for Cats. It is one of the band's most popular and well-remembered songs (especially in the UK), and reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Up the Junction is a novel by Nell Dunn, first published in 1963. Lyricist Chris Difford said that the title phrase was lifted from the 1965 TV play version of the novel, directed by Ken Loach, and its subsequent 1968 movie remake. (see Up the Junction). The film had a soundtrack by Manfred Mann, and a song by them, titled 'Up the Junction' Although the song is not derived, it includes several references to the drama:
The song is well known for its use of half-rhymes, such as "ready" and "telly" or "kitchen" and "missing".
The band made a tongue-in-cheek performance of the "Up the Junction" on British chart show Top of the Pops in which band members play the 'wrong instrument', with singer Glenn Tilbrook drumming and Jools Holland (normally pianist) making minimal attempts to look at all proficient at the guitar.
The song appears in the 1982 film Brimstone and Treacle.
Difford's performance of the song live on Platform 10 at Clapham Junction featured on the BBC Radio 4 programme Lyrical Journey in September 2011.[1]
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The protagonist's daughter would have been born at 5:20AM, according to the lyrics of the song. The date of her birth, and her name, are as of yet unknown.
"Up the Junction" has been covered by a number of artists:
The song was also reworked by co-writer Difford on his 2006 acoustic album South East Side Story.