Tilbrook described his childhood as “quite dysfunctional”
By Damian Jones 23rd November 2025
Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze performing at Glastonbury Festival 2024 CREDIT: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook has revealed that he was abused when he was a teenager.
The 68-year-old claimed that an older man abused him when he was 13 at the first gig he ever went to.
He told The Telegraph in a new interview: “It was in a scout hut in Eltham, and it was the Irish band Tír na nÓg, who I really liked. I went by myself. I would have been just early 13, and that’s where I met, not this guy, Ron, but another guy… And so… this guy just says, ‘Come over to our squat.’ And that’s where I met Ron actually, at that squat.”
Tilbrook added: “He, in many ways, also introduced me to a wider world. He took me to the Glastonbury Festival in 1971.”
Speaking about the alleged abuse, he went on: “I don’t feel angry. [But] as I’ve got older, I’ve realised things that haven’t been OK, in certain ways that I behave.”
Tilbrook described his childhood as “quite dysfunctional”. He said: “There was no parental control. I was taking drugs and having sex at 13, which perhaps wasn’t so great.”
Elsewhere, former Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis died earlier this month, aged 74.
Since then the band have announced a UK arena tour for 2026, marking their biggest headline shows yet.
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The London band will hit the road for their ‘Tried, Tested And Trixies’ trek next winter, with Billy Bragg joining them as a special guest opener.
Tickets go on general sale at 9:30am GMT next Friday (November 28) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. Alternatively, fans can access a pre-sale by pre-ordering Squeeze’s new album ‘Trixies’ here.
The band will be donating £1 from every ticket sale to support grassroots music venues, artists and promoters, too, with Tilbrook becoming a patron of the Music Venue Trust (MVT).
Before that, Squeeze are set to support Madness on their 2025 ‘Hit Parade’ UK arena tour, which kicks off next month. Find any remaining tickets here.
