Up the Junction

"Up the Junction" was the third single released from Squeeze's second album, Cool for Cats. Sung by Glenn Tilbrook, it is one of the band's most popular and well-remembered songs (especially in the UK), and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, the same position as its predecessor, "Cool for Cats". History Up the Junction is also the name of a collection of short stories by Nell Dunn, first published in 1963. Lyricist Chris Difford said the title phrase was lifted from the 1965 TV play version of the work, directed by Ken Loach, and the subsequent 1968 movie version. The film had a soundtrack by Manfred Mann, and a song by them, also called Up the Junction. Although the song is not specifically about the TV drama, it alludes to its themes and location: Portrayal of life in Battersea (the song begins "I never thought it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham") "Junction" refers to Clapham Junction Colloquial working-class language The subject of pregnancy