Song · Squeeze
“Hourglass” by Squeeze
From the album Babylon and On (1986)
“Hourglass” by Squeeze appears on 8 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1987 and 2023. It was first released in 1986 on the album Babylon and On. Its best result is #11 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #16 alternative song of 1987, #5,207 alternative song of all time and #71 of the '80s.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Squeeze - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Hourglass" was the first single from Babylon and On, Squeeze's seventh album, from 1986, and it was born differently from the rest. Instead of Chris Difford handing over lyrics for Glenn Tilbrook to set to music, the two sat down in the same room at Tilbrook's suggestion and knocked it out at his house in about an hour, trading ideas both ways before Tilbrook demoed it and the band pulled it around some more.
What came out is a manic, rubbery pop gadget: Tilbrook singing lead and playing wind instruments, Jools Holland on organ, Keith Wilkinson on bass and Gilson Lavis on drums, with Eric Thorngren co-producing alongside Tilbrook. Both writers admit the words are basically nonsense, which hardly matters when the chorus spins this fast. Ade Edmondson's optical-illusion video was all over MTV, and it became the band's biggest American hit, reaching number 15.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 31 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 | 107 |
| 1987 | 11 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 | 91 |
| 1987 | 39 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 | 105 |
| 1987 | 49 | WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY | WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 | 99 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 74 | 91X | 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) | 191 |
| 1989 | 328 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1996 | 405 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 2023 | 252 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Hourglass" by Squeeze.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.