Tempted (3:59)

“Tempted” was the second single released from Squeeze’s fourth album, East Side Story. Though it failed to crack the Top 40 in any country it was released (UK #41, Canada #45, US #49, Australia #90), over the years “Tempted” has become one of Squeeze’s most well known songs, especially in North America, thanks to its use in various TV commercials and in modern video games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Unlike other Squeeze songs, which are usually sung by guitarist/songwriter Glenn Tilbrook, the song’s lead vocal is mainly by keyboardist Paul Carrack, though Tilbrook and producer Elvis Costello also sing for a few lines in the second verse. The song was written by Squeeze members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook.

Tilbrook considers this one of his favorite songs. He told Songfacts: “It was our first song. It was when we grew up, really, as a band. When we finished it I couldn’t quite believe it was us.”

Tempted has been covered numerous times, including versions by Sting, Richard Thompson, Joe Cocker, The Georgetown Chimes, and Rockapella. Jools Holland also covered this song on his album Lift The Lid, which was a nod to Jools’s history with the band.

In 1993, Squeeze remixed and overdubbed the original recording to create a ‘new’ version of the song for the soundtrack to the film Reality Bites. This version received some radio airplay and was dubbed “Tempted ‘94.”