Squire
Though they never received the recognition they deserved,
Squire was one of the earliest and finest mod
revival bands of the late 70's.
Squire were able to transcend the limits of the genre with
their high quality pop which drew equal parts from punk spirit and
the 1960's.
Named because they rehearsed above a shop called Squires, this
lot went to school with Paul Weller in Woking, Surrey and formed
in Guildford not long after The Jam as a
covers band consisting of Enzo Esposito (vocals/bass), Steve Baker
(guitar) and Ross Di'Landa (drums).
In June 1978, songwriter/guitarist Anthony Meynell joined just
prior to a high profile gig opening for The Jam.
The addition of Meynell changed the band's focus to producing
original material, and by 1979, they had released their first
single for ROK Records, Get Ready To Go.
While the single gained them some airplay, their biggest break
came with the newly termed mod revival movement and their
appearance on the legendary Mods Mayday '79 album which
featured two new songs by the band.
Ian Page of Secret Affair (one
of Squire's mod peers) had just started his own I-Spy label and
signed the band on the merits of their appearance on Mods
Mayday '79. The signing led to some personnel changes. First,
Di'Landa was replaced by Kevin Meynell, then Baker quit without
replacement.
In 1979, Squire released two wonderful singles for I-Spy: Walking
Down the Kings Road and The Face of Youth Today. Out of
the two singles, only Walking Down the Kings Road charted
(and had the sensational B-Side It's A Mod Mod World).
In 1980, Squire switched record labels, signing with another
independent, Stage One Records. The band's first release on Stage
One was My Mind Goes Round in Circles which, like its
predecessors, barely made an impact on the charts.
 Frustrated
by a lack of success, the band essentially dissolved when the last
original member, Esposito, left. Anthony Meynell decided to give
it another try when he started his own label, Hi-lo in 1981. The
first release was Hits From 3000 Years Ago, a collection of
demos and leftovers from the original Squire line-up.
England ignored it but American (and Australian) power
pop fans stumbled on to it and as word spread, it sold
respectably, and deservedly so, the music here is pure pop,
hook-filled, melodic and instantly endearing.
Meynell reactivated the band, adding Jon Bicknell on bass, and
releasing a new single, No Time for Tomorrow, in 1982.
Their first proper album, Get Smart, was finally
released late in 1983. They never made the breakthrough into the
mainstream, but the album and its follow-up EP, September Gurls,
(the title track was a cover of the Big Star
classic) in 1984 became cult classics in American and Australian
power pop circles.
Squire began preparation for their next album, Smash,
but decided to call it quits before its completion.
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