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Tempted' by Squeeze: The Bold Decision That Turned a Backup Singer Into a Star

21 min • 29 oktober 2024

Coming up next, a special episode of The Professor of Rock. We have 2 legends on today’s show, Elvis Costello and Paul Carrack, telling the story of one of the greatest songs of all time: Tempted by Squeeze. It’s one of the most well-known classics of the 80s but… it wasn’t actually a hit. It stopped just sort of the top 40. Tempted was recorded by Squeeze's longtime lead singer Glen Tilbrook and then out of nowhere a legendary artist, Elvis Costello, who the band brought in to produce the record felt the song wasn’t quite right. So, Costello, had the whole thing re-recorded and used a newcomer to the band who was hired to replace their long-time keyboardist… and maybe add some background vocals from time to time: Paul Carrack. Tilbrook was Pissed. Not only had he co-written the song but he had a great voice. But Elvis took a chance on Paul and he nailed it. And one iconic line from Tempted became so popular that fans threw toothbrushes on stage at the band whenever it was performed. We have the story from the legendary producer icon who made the controversial decision and the backup singer-keyboardist who made the song iconic next on Professor of Rock.

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