"Tempted" was the second single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. Over the years it has become one of Squeeze's best-known songs, despite failing to crack the Top 40 in any country in which it was released ; Stewart Mason of AllMusic remarked, "Although its increasing ubiquity on '80s hits radio and on television would suggest otherwise, Squeeze's "Tempted" was not actually a hit single." The song later became ingrained in public consciousness due to its use in commercials by Burger King and Heineken, film soundtracks like that of Reality Bites, and the video games , and Rock Band. To this day, "Tempted" still gets moderate airplay from classic hits, classic rock and adult alternative-formatted radio stations. it can also be heard in the TV showAshes to Ashes. Unlike other Squeeze songs, which are sung usually by guitarist/songwriter Glenn Tilbrook or less often by guitarist/lyricist Chris Difford, the song's lead vocal is sung by keyboardist Paul Carrack, though Tilbrook and producer Elvis Costello also trade a few lines in the second verse. The song was written by Difford and Tilbrook.
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Singer/guitarist Chris Difford wrote the lyric while the band was taking a taxi to Heathrow Airport. The descriptions of the city and airport sights are interspersed with the narrator's ruminations on a relationship that is failing, or has failed, due to his own infidelities. As Difford recalled, Tilbrook considers this one of his favourite songs: "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." Difford also named the song as a favourite, saying "I do love 'Tempted'. It's so visual and again floats me back to that time when youth was a cloud I drifted around on from day to day".
Other versions
"Tempted" has been covered numerous times, including versions by Sting, OK Go, Richard Thompson, Joe Cocker, Mickey Thomas, The Georgetown Chimes, Rockapella, Rita Coolidge and Jenny Morris. Jools Holland also covered this song on his album Lift the Lid, which was a nod to Jools' history with the band. In 2019, Erykah Badu recorded her version. 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". In 2010, the song appeared in re-recorded form on Spot the Difference, a retrospective of Squeeze hits performed by the 2010 edition of the band. Though Carrack was no longer a member of Squeeze at this point, he sat in as a guest and sang lead vocals on this re-recorded track.
