WHO would have thought that 14 records in four decades and an Ivor Novello award would all be thanks to a sweet shop?

Chris Difford set his whole life into motion without realising it when he stole 50p from his mum's purse to put an advert in a sweet shop window near his home.

The songwriter, who will be in Warrington with Squeeze on Tuesday, was looking for a guitarist to form a band and a teenage Glenn Tilbrook was the only one to get back to him.

That was 1973 but 43 years later the pair are still musical collaborators and lifelong friends, who were hailed as the successors to Lennon and McCartney during their peak of popularity in the early 1980s.

Chris told Weekend: "Glenn was the only one to answer the ad and Squeeze grew from there. Incredible really.

"It was one of those moments in life. I think everybody in life gets a handful of serendipity – it’s what you do with it.

"Meeting Glenn has paved the way for where I am today."

By 1977 the new wave duo had made their recording debut and enjoyed a string of hits which lasted until 1982. They included Cool For Cats and Up The Junction, which both reached number two in the charts.

The original line-up was completed by drummer Paul Gunn and keyboardist Jools Holland, who famously went on to become a composer, bandleader and TV presenter.

Squeeze's early days saw them on the same music circuit as Dire Straits and Alternative TV when they signed to Miles Copeland III's BTM Records.

The label has had hits with the likes of The Buzzcocks, Fine Young Cannibals and R.E.M.

Over the years Squeeze has gone through line-up changes, solo careers and occasional separations, most noticeably between 1999 and 2007 when Chris and Glenn went their separate ways for eight years.

But something kept bringing the pair back together and last year they released Cradle To The Grave, their first collection of new tracks in 17 years.

Chris, who has also written lyrics for Jools Holland, Elton John, Wet Wet Wet and Marti Pellow, added: "I never thought music lasted beyond the age of 25 so to still be doing this at 63 is amazing.

"It's quite incredible to be in a position where I can look back at it all.

"I never really thought further than the end of my nose so I had no aspirations for it to last as long as this but it has – one day at a time.

"I had no focus in terms of where I was going to be or what I was going to do. I was just on this journey with four other kids and that’s what happens when you join a band.

"But what is unusual is to be in that same band and on that same journey throughout your whole life. Most bands deteriorate. We seem to have clung on. We are Barnacle Bill I think."

In typical Squeeze style, Cradle to the Grave is an nostalgic collection of songs about growing up in London in 60s and 70s.

Some of the songs, including the title track, can be heard on BBC2's sitcom of the same name starring Peter Kay.

It is based on broadcaster Danny Baker’s autobiography, Going to Sea in a Sieve, and Squeeze even make a cameo appearance in the second episode.

Chris, who went to the same school as Danny, said: "We were going to make a new Squeeze record and around that same time we were approached by Danny Baker and Jeff Pope to write the music for a TV show with Peter Kay.

"So it dovetailed together rather neatly without any planning – which is normally what happens with Squeeze.

"It was amazing. It was really great fun and Peter is an amazing cockney. He wouldn’t say it himself but he is."

You can hear some of those new tracks as well as many from Squeeze's treasure trove of classics when they play at the Parr Hall on Tuesday.

They chose Warrington for their only north west show of the year.

Chris said: "We’re going to America for a month for our Cradle to the Grave tour. But before that we wanted to play a few places that we didn’t manage to get to on our last UK tour.

"Warrington was one of those places. It’s a part of the UK that we particularly love."

So what was it like to be back in that studio environment after all that time?

"It was really great," Chris added.

"We recorded it in Glenn’s studio. It was a long process but it felt comfortable to go back into that environment. It still felt natural.

"It was worth it. Everybody pulled together and made it a great sounding band record.

"After all these years we’re still here. I’m very proud of that. There’s no philosophy. It’s just when we get in a studio that’s what we sound like

"Glenn is a very good producer of songs. He knows exactly what he wants so it seems to work. I never question it.

"There are no secrets to Squeeze. We are just who we are."

- Squeeze are at Parr Hall on Tuesday. Tickets are from £34.25. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345.

DAVID MORGAN