Difford was born in Greenwich, London, on 4 November 1954, the youngest of three sons. His mother, Isabel (née Hamilton) was from Northern Ireland and met Difford's father Sidney Lewis Difford (1919–2001) while he was stationed in Belfast during World War II.[2]
Difford has written lyrics for over 50 years, most notably in partnership with Glenn Tilbrook. The two were primary members in Squeeze and Difford & Tilbrook. According to Difford, he stole 50p from his mother's purse to put a card in a local sweetshop window advertising for a guitarist to join his band, although he did not have one at the time. Tilbrook was the only person who responded to the advert and they met for the first time shortly afterwards.[3] Some of their best-known songs are "Tempted", "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)", "Black Coffee in Bed", "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction" and "Annie Get Your Gun".
Chris Difford performing at London's Royal Albert Hall, October 2009, in aid of the PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music Members' Benevolent Fund.
After the break-up of Squeeze in 1983, Difford continued writing songs for artists such as Jools Holland,[4]Helen Shapiro, Billy Bremner and Elvis Costello. He has also written lyrics for music by Jools Holland, Elton John,[5]Wet Wet Wet,[6]Marti Pellow and others. He was involved with Tilbrook and John Turner in the creation of a musical, Labelled with Love, which was created using the songs of Squeeze.[7] The 1983 musical performed in Deptford was short-lived. In 1984, the pair released the album Difford and Tilbrook and had a minor hit in the UK with "Love's Crashing Waves" which reached 57 in the UK Singles Chart.[8] In 1985, Squeeze reunited, having hits in the US with the album Babylon and On, plus the singles "Hourglass" and "853-5937". Difford left the group in 1999 launching a solo career in 2003 with his album I Didn't Get Where I Am.[9] Difford was also manager of Bryan Ferry[10] and The Strypes. Squeeze reunited again in 2007, and Difford maintained a concurrent solo career alongside his work with the band.
In March 2010, Difford curated Songs in the Key of London, an evening of music dedicated to the capital at the Barbican Centre, London.[11]
In 2017, he published his autobiography, Some Fantastic Place: My Life In and Out of Squeeze.
Since 2014, he has been running the annual Chris Difford Songwriting Retreat, under the auspices of the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation,[12] providing an opportunity for artists to collaborate with one another to write new songs and create new friendships in a relaxed setting in the English countryside.[13]
In August 2021, Difford launched a podcast series, I Never Thought It Would Happen, with the charity Help Musicians, a charity he is an ambassador for, speaking to guests including Sting, Robbie Williams and KT Tunstall about the highs and lows of life in music. [14]
Difford was raised in Greenwich. He lived in New York with his first wife and their two children. He then lived in Rye, Sussex, with the mother of his two youngest children. Currently, he lives just outside Brighton, Sussex, with his wife, Louise, whom he married in April 2013.[15]
