The Sunday Express asked me to write a piece on love songs, the editor thought it was too whimsical to print. It wont be long until this newspaper goes the way of the Independent and then nobody will read it.

Having knowingly never written a love song i feel ill equipped to write about the subject, however all songs i write are filled with some kind of love. From the kitchen sink drama of ‘Up The Junction’ to the recent ‘Cradle To The Grave’ there is a message of love sailing through each horizon somewhere. Even though ‘Is That Love’ starts with the line, ‘you left my ring by the soap, is that love’, i think of this as my favourite Squeeze love song next to ‘Loving You Tonight’ To write a good love song you need to be in that place of happiness, its a wonderful feeling, its a magical weave of emotions. Being in love helps the writing process, love brings positivity and optimism to the often worn out quill. Pages of heartfelt devotion can pour out like treacle for days but when i read it all back later it seems like mush, and im depressed again. Speaking of which there are times when heartache can be just the inspirational for a love song, the pining and the grieving can make you reach tearful for the pencil case. I can always make up love in my songs, this is done by pretending, by creating two people in the imagination and letting them float off above my head. I can hang all of my fears and worry onto them, or i can fill them full of joy and happiness, but the later is not as appealing in the introverted world of the songwriter. Love songs are sometimes filled with cheese, and there are tons of songs out there that have this quality, i hear people at weddings singing along to the endless melting of empty words. We all love them. I’ve never been able to write like that, im sure if i could i would be a millionaire. In my experience the love song does not even have have to have the word ‘love’ in it at all, but most people like to hear the word, the trouble is it only rhymes with a few other words, Dove being one of them. Writing a love song is best done sitting by a fire with a nice bun on a plate and a cup of tea, often dressed in a cardigan. Writing a love song is best achieved from a place of still, to find this place you first have to find love, which i have. Some wonderful minor chords sprinkled lightly over the top of words like Moon and June, in my arms, and you make me feel so good, words that don’t normally find their way on to my page. Having now written about writing about love I’m now going off to the corner of my room to do just that, write a love song. I will start like this.

No more newspaper for my fish and chips, what can i do I’ll tip gently on my i Pad and think of you.