Hi, and welcome to the latest newsletter where we catch up on an old friend and reveal a new song!
'Does Stephanie Know?' is more than a song, Stephanie has been an omnipresent character in the story of Squire for decades. Originally introduced in 1979 and immortalised on the flip side of the single ‘My Mind Goes Round In Circles’, which also featured Kirsty MacColl providing a female vocal counterpoint to the story, she’s become a key figure the mythology surrounding the band. The song is played at every concert. Fans have named the children after her! We even discussed her in a newsletter - but what is she doing now?
Our new track 'A Better Day' catches up with Stephanie decades later. And it's not what you might expect. Where she once wondered about "all the things in the world," now she's asking "what happened to the girl she knew"—meaning herself. Despite understanding more, she finds things still "end up the same.” It's like bumping into an old friend on Facebook and scrolling through their timeline, curious about where they ended up. She’s still searching, still questioning, but it's different - this friend exists in our songs, in our memories, in every performance we've ever played.
Listen to the demo:
The song deliberately mirrors the original—same opening line, same guitar feel—but everything's shifted. Where 'Does Stephanie Know?' opened bright and hopeful in D major, 'A Better Day' starts in B minor, casting the same melody in shadow. It's like seeing a familiar face in different lighting.
But the key is - she’s still looking for "a better day." Classic Squire optimism!
A DEEPER STORY
This isn't just nostalgia or a sequel for the sake of it. While there are a couple of songs in the Squire catalogue that ‘time travel’, we’re doing something here we've never done before, indeed never knowingly seen done before—letting a fictional character age in real time alongside the audience who knows her.
Think about it: when John Lennon revealed in 1968s Glass Onion "the walrus was Paul," that was instant revelation. When Bowie said in 1983 Ashes to Ashes, "Major Tom's a junkie," it was like a shock therapy. But Stephanie? She's been living alongside us for 45 years. Like us all, she changed, learned things, been disappointed and found a way back again.
How do you fit two versions of the same character—young Stephanie and older Stephanie—into the same live set? What does that do to your memories? What does it do to the songs themselves?
These are the questions that drove us to write this song!
WANT THE FULL STORY?
We've written extensively about this whole concept—the theory behind it, the musical choices, what it means for songwriting itself. It's a real deep dive into something we think might be genuinely new in popular music.
READ THE FULL ANALYSIS ON SUBSTACK
https://open.substack.com/pub/anthonymeynell/p/stephanie-what-happened?
If you've ever wondered about the characters that live inside songs, you'll want to read this!
LIVE DATES
100 CLUB, LONDON
October 19th, 2025 - Two weeks from now
We'll be debuting 'A Better Day' alongside the classics. Hearing both Stephanies in the same set for the first time!
MY GENERATION, MINEHEAD
January 9th, 2026
Three days, three rooms, mod band and film extravaganza!
GUADALAJARA FESTIVAL, SPAIN
March 7th, 2026
Near Madrid. More details coming soon, but mark your calendars—it's going to be special.
FINAL THOUGHT
Following on from the last newsletter’s ‘Girl Go By’ demo, ‘A Better Day’ is the second new track and we’re going to continue to surprise you with new songs! Let us know what you think and hope to see some of you in London on 19th October!
Here's a link to Girl Go By in case you missed it!