Squeeze & Boy George: '80s Icons Unite for Co-Headlining U.S. Summer Tour

Get ready for a double dose of new wave nostalgia. Iconic artists Squeeze and Boy George are hitting the road together for a U.S. tour this summer.

Squeeze is coming back to the U.S. after a series of shows in 2023, co-headlining with the Psychedelic Furs. The band's co-founders and songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook are celebrating their 50-year partnership, first meeting as teenagers in the London suburb of Greenwich when Difford placed an ad in a sweetshop window looking for a guitarist. Tilbrook was the only one who responded, and two forged a bond with songwriting, as Difford composed the lyrics and then handed them over to Tilbrook for the melodies.

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The group incarnations have fluctuated back and forth, with their most well-known songs coming in the late '70s, including "Up The Junction" and "Cool For Cats." They scored visually for being one of the first new wave bands to be featured in the early days of MTV and gaining critical plaudits for their 1981 release East Side Story.

The current lineup – Difford, Tilbrook, keyboardist Stephen Large and drummer Simon Hanson (since 2007), percussionist/backing vocalist Steve Smith (since 2017), pedal/lap steel guitarist Melvin Duffy (since 2019), and Owen Biddle, former bassist for the Roots (who joined in 2020) – are reportedly recording material for two albums, one of brand new material and one derived from unrecorded songs written by Difford and Tilbrook from their earliest songwriting days.

Boy George has been musically busy, fresh from a starring role on Broadway in Moulin Rouge and contributing to the soundtrack for the Apple Original film Argylle. George, best known as the frontperson for Culture Club, also became a forward-facing figure on MTV in the early '80s. With his androgynous persona and flamboyant styling, Culture Club racked up numerous hits including "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me," "Karma Chameleon," "Church of the Poison Mind" and "Miss Me Blind."

Legal troubles, including a stint in prison, brought his career to a halt in the mid-2000s. However, he has bounced back creatively with his most public gig as a judge on The Voice UK and The Voice Australia. In 2015, he received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors for Outstanding Services to British Music.

Squeeze and Boy George will be performing at the below venues. Ticket information for U.K. and U.S. shows are available here.

'Squeeze Me Boy George' USA Tour Aug + Sept 2024:

Aug 14 - Eugene, OR @ The Cuthbert Amphitheatre***

Aug 15 - Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Live ++

Aug 17 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre ++

Aug 18 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre***

Aug 21 - Costa Mesa, CA @ OC Fair & Event Centre***

Aug 22- Inglewood, CA @YouTube Theatre***

Aug 23 - Rancho Mirage, CA @ The Show at Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage***

Aug 25 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre***

Aug 27 - Austin, TX @Moody Amphitheatre at Waterloo Park ++

Aug 28 - Irving, TX @ Toyota Music Factory ++

Aug 29 - Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall ++

Sept 10 - Vienna, DC @ Wolf Trap ++

Sept 11 - Reading, PA @ Santander Performing Arts Centre***

Sept 13 - Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre ++

Sept 14 - Atlantic City, NJ @Tropicana Showroom at Tropicana Atlantic City ***

Sept 15 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena***

Sept 17 - New York City, NY @ Summerstage in Central Park ++

Sept 20 - Clearwater, FL @ The Baycare Sound ++

Sept 21 - Pompano, FL @ Pompano Beach Amphitheatre ++

Sept 22 - Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts ++

++ Squeeze closing the show

*** Boy George closing the show