Cool for Cats (song)

"Cool for Cats" is a song by English rock band Squeeze, released as the second single from their album of the same name. The song features a rare lead vocal performance from cockney-accented Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford, one of the only two occasions he sang lead on a Squeeze single A-side (the other was 1989's "Love Circles"). The song, slightly edited from the album track, peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979, making "Cool for Cats" one of the band's biggest hits.

"Cool for Cats"
Single by Squeeze
from the album Cool for Cats
B-side"Model"
Released9 March 1979
Recorded1978
Genre
Length3:39 (album version)
3:10 (single version)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • John Wood
  • Squeeze
Squeeze singles chronology
"Goodbye Girl"
(1978)		 "Cool for Cats"
(1979)		 "Up the Junction"
(1979)
"Crying in My Sleep"
(1991)
"Cool for Cats"
(1992)
"Third Rail"
(1993)
Music video
"Cool for Cats" on YouTube

Background

"Cool for Cats" was written about the social scene the band experienced in their youth. Tilbrook recalled: "Originally it was written about the social circle we were moving in at the time, being young and being... we were almost entirely centered in our own little world. I remember hearing Chris sing those lyrics for the first time and thinking he's just nailed what our lives are about now. It's lovely to be able to look back on that and see how we were as youngsters."[3]

The title phrase, which Difford felt "was a great song title", is a reference to the television series Cool for Cats. Difford commented in a 1979 interview: "I don't know if you're familiar with the phrase 'Cool For Cats,' but it was the first rock 'n' roll television show in England during 1959. That's where the album and single title originated - I just worked it into some personal experiences within the lyrical content."[4]

Originally, the song was performed much slower and featured a different set of lyrics. However, at the request of co-producer John Wood, Difford wrote a new lyric to the backing track the band had recorded. According to Difford, he wrote a new lyric after watching The Benny Hill Show, which featured character-based musical numbers performed to a flat metre. Tilbrook felt Difford's new lyrics and vocals "sounded unbelievably cool" and recruited his girlfriend and her friends to contribute the female backing vocals on the chorus.[5]

Release

"Cool For Cats" was released as a single on 9 March 1979. The band performed the song on Top of the Pops to promote the single, though the band was forced to alter the lyric "I'm invited in for a coffee / and I give the dog a bone".[5] The band also released a music video for the song featuring the band and female backing singers performing the song. Tilbrook later said the video "makes me cringe", particularly for a moment where Tilbrook "burst through a group of girls" in an attempt to look "panther-like and super-sexy", only to "just look pissed".[5] Difford notes that the band originally filmed a different video where the band constantly changed hats, but it did not appear on TV because it featured a clip of drummer Gilson Lavis downing a pint of beer in two seconds.[5]

"Cool For Cats" would prove to be the band's biggest UK hit to that point, reaching number two on the charts there.[6] "Cool For Cats" remains tied with the band's subsequent single, "Up The Junction", for the band's highest charting single. The band became ambivalent about these songs, however: Difford noted that the band "deliberately binned" their two best-charting singles when he and Tilbrook started attracting critical acclaim as "the new Lennon–McCartney". Difford concluded, though, "Now I look back on those songs with great affection because without them I wouldn't be where I am today."[5]

The song has also appeared on several of the band's compilations, such as Singles – 45's and Under.

Reception

Cash Box called it "a light, bouncy number that almost borders on a disco beat combines with amusing tongue-in-cheek lyrics and cute female backup vocals."[7] Record World said that "hard, fast-spoken lead vocals contrast with a vivid falsetto chorus."[8]

Track listing
  1. "Cool for Cats" (3:10)
  2. "Model" (3:30)

1992 UK Re-issue
A&M AMCD 694 – Limited Edition Cool Cat Pac

  1. "Cool for Cats"
  2. "Trust Me to Open My Mouth"
  3. "Squabs on Forty Five"

Personnel
  • Chris Difford – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
  • Glenn Tilbrook – lead guitar
  • Harry Kakoulli – bass
  • Jools Holland – keyboard
  • Gilson Lavis – drums

Chart positions

Weekly charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 39
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 33
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 2

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for "Cool for Cats"
Chart (1979) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 30

References
  1. Mason, Stewart. "Cool for Cats - Squeeze". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  2. Rolling Stone Staff (11 November 2020). "The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 September 2023. A year after their cockney skinny-tie disco classic "Cool for Cats"...
  3. Nolasco, Stephanie. "Squeeze's Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook reveal the strangest fan encounter they've had: 'She wins the award'". Fox News. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  4. ""Cool For Cats" - Squeeze". Songfacts. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  5. Tilbrook, Glenn; Difford, Chris; Drury, Jim. Squeeze: Song by Song. Sanctuary.
  6. "Chart Stats – Squeeze". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  7. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 12 May 1979. p. 17. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  8. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 21 July 1979. p. 245. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Squeeze" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  11. "Squeeze – Cool For Cats" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. "Squeeze – Cool For Cats". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  14. "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
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