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Chris.. Your rhythm guitar is quite unique. Unique as in amazing. Whats up there? Very Bob Weir, are you a fan? Thanks for what you do. Peace Love and Mischief… Glenn

How nice to receive such emails from fans, obviously this is not the man on my left, stage centre. 2017 has come to a close, the curtain is down and the stage is being swept ready for the next show. In the dressing room polish is being sprayed on the surfaces and the mirrors are all being wiped clean, its a new year kind of thing. A new reflection. I love these cold months, its good for the pen and the mind to come together to create the new, and let in the centre of the imagination to the back stage of my very own production. 17 was a year when i celebrated my 25th year in sobriety, and what a challenge it turned out to be. The book sadly upset a few people, and this poured cold water on the process of letting go. I was eventually very proud of my work and shrugged off the weight and shadows for the winter sunlight and emails from many fans loving the read. 17 was a year of recording and writing album number 15 with Squeeze. A band i could only dream of when i was 17. Glenn was princable hod carrier and on site most of the time building the walls that would house our songs. He is a craftsman in many ways. His work card punched more times than most. The band played tenderly and with subtle guidance, the end result was a record that equals many of our best moments over time. The touring that followed was hard work and professional, all 46 shows plus with our wonderful crew and team of line judges. This Squeeze was tight and on the button, it was powerful and formed a nest for all the baby birds of highly managed harmony. The reviews were amazing, we were found in a good place and to have two valuable creative pieces of work out in the same year is something i can’t quite believe. Solo shows sprung me up and down the roads of old England, so much so my car went over 56,000 miles, its only two years old. I enjoy these shows and the people who come to hear me seem to enjoy the banter and the strumming. In all i played 96 shows in 2017, hard to imagine from this end of the telescope. The nights with Jools gave me is much happiness, being on stage with his wonderful Orchestra made me feel good. I wrote some new songs with his Lordship and im really looking forward to hearing them. I also played in goal for Paul Carrack, being in his studio makes me smile, his voice so high with soul and love. Not to mention the cheese sandwiches. His new album out soon i hear.

Its the turn of the year that makes me think about things more than i should, im on the edge of a pool, its deep and blue, warm and full of ripples of freedom. I feel creative as i always do at this time, and im eager to press on with more songs and more chapters. The book comes out in paperback and i have a chance to review my words, my feelings, and add another chapter. There is a record in the pipe. ‘Pants’ is a shorter version of ‘Fancy Pants’ with a different mix and some changes to the structure. Then there is the book tour, coming in March, April and May. (See link below). More writers weeks, with the very generous Buddy Holly Foundation. Squeeze have a tour of the upside downs, i wont be there for many reasons. And then there are Squeeze summer festivals, come and see us as we wade through the end of our washing line, filled with new and old songs balanced like clean laundry drying in the wind of good fortune. It may be the end of the road for the time being, it may be the beginning of the new, im not sure. A busy year of writing and strumming awaits and im happy about that on so many levels.

Me and the family Diff are also on the move, a new home and teenagers on the grow. A head scratcher. Older ones being here there and everywhere and all in all doing what families always do, stress and bend like wings on a plane. Two in New York doing great and two in East London also doing great, its a forrest of growth. 17 saw some changes with the Barn Owls as they changed schools for spots and studying, and like eels in a net they wriggled from right to wrong and back again. Thats children all over. Ells with food on the table and no plans to load the dishwasher before they reach 30. I was the same, although we never had a dishwasher. Louise does a proud job of keeping home. Country life has been as ever wonderful, its a long drive to be in the arms of the sky but its worth the ride. The Downs wraps us in our home as we nestle in the muddy fields of Sussex. Rain and more rain most days. We had a holiday this year down in a pretty house in Cornwall. Blackpool is a quite cove well worth the M5. All seemed well. Overall the year has been a dolly mixture of treats, hard work and more sleepless nights than i care to recall. My head hurts at 4am as i speed date the problems in my life. I ride the anger with a program that has served me well for 25 years, and back to the book, that was why i wanted to write it, in hope to pass on the message that if im nuts and i made it this far so can you. This year needs a fresh coat of paint, and im sure i can find the screwdriver to lift the lid on that pot. Its here in my desk somewhere.

I feel stronger for having lived through 2017, i think the year was a test of spirit and hope, and now with 18 on the windowsill i can reach out and grasp all of the possibility’s that it might bring. I have simple but brave ideas to re connect with the 1972 me who once picked up the guitar with a passion for the unknown. Today as the bells dangle in the new one im right there with that chap, im all ears and eyes with a horizon only fools can miss. I wish all those who i may have upset on my journey love and happiness, my prayers are for those who have not yet found redemption and forgiveness, my heart is beating for all. I have songs to write i have debit cards to feed and i have books to read, i have songs to drill into, and i have friends to hold. And there is a house to build into a home. I have Mrs D to be with on my journey and her ever loving ways, we walk this chapter together. Our children will grow ever more towards the sky like healthy flowers in the ground. Health and happiness thats the fresh air we breath. As i mingle with the rain on the window and the wind at the barn i feel the good things in life coming to us all just around the corner, just a step away.

An overview of the past 12 months leads me to think that some dreams may well be cancelled, but none for me. Today on New Years day i wake up and reach for the reality in this simple life, now my dreams are just about to begin. I’m up on my hind legs in anticipation as i look forward to all of the great things around the corner in this even of all years, 2018. There is a chicken coop to clean, some stones to move on the driveway, and a tasty Indian meal waiting just a few hours up the road from here. A walk with the dog and a sit in the comfy chair by the window with Mrs D, what more are dreams made of? As Todd Runtgren once sang, ..the dream goes on forever..

http://chrisdifford.com/tour/