VIDEO CHAT: Squeeze and Billy Bragg head this way with hits, memories and musical magic - get your tickets here

Pop icons Squeeze and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg have been singing one another's praises as they prepare to hit the road together for a major UK tour, which is selling out venues and is coming to our region - get tickets while you can here.

The Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour, this November and December - full dates and details below - kicks off in Glasgow before playing Blackpool, Nottingham, Newcastle, Stockton-on-Tees, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Swansea, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Brighton.

With Squeeze classics including Cool for Cats, Up the Junction, Tempted and Labelled with Love, alongside Billy's much-loved songs including A New England and Between the Wars, the three musicians reckon they're a perfect match.

WATCH VIDEO: Check out the three pop legends in conversation above, talking about the tour, their music and the stories behind the songs. You can also watch on YouTube - CLICK HERE.

BUY TICKETS: Don't miss out. Secure your seats while tickets are still available at gigsandtours.com, ticketmaster.co.uk and all outlets at bio.to/squeeze.

In the video, Squeeze founders Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook joined Billy Bragg to reflect on their music, their remarkable careers and why this collaboration promises something special.

For Billy the connection is obvious."I think the Squeeze audience are used to storytelling.

That's kind of what the band do, what Chris and Glenn are famous for, and that'll connect with what I do because I'm in that same ballpark," he said.

Chris agrees that the pairing offers audiences something special.He said: "I think it's a great coming together, it's a great connection and I think the audiences will benefit from both of our shows. It's going to be a wonderful contrast between us all."

For Squeeze, the tour comes with renewed confidence in a band whose songs have become part of British musical history.

Glenn said: "We're in a really good place with Squeeze. The band has never sounded better, I think."

But alongside those familiar hits, fans can expect a fascinating journey back to the band's earliest songwriting days.

Chris and Glenn will revisit material from Trixies, an album featuring songs they originally wrote as teenagers.Chris says: "It's a very special occasion to write with Glenn. Writing with Glenn is a very special thing because we've been doing it for so long."

Reflecting on their extraordinary creative partnership, Glenn said: "We were so prolific because we sparked something in each other."

For Billy, storytelling remains at the heart of a memorable live performance.

"A gig should have a narrative arc as well as a dynamic arc. The storytelling aspect of it, the narrative arc of a gig, gets overlooked by some bands who just rely on a light show to entertain people,” said Billy.

“I always felt Squeeze had one foot in the tradition of great rock and roll songwriting.”

He said: “There isn't really a London scene in the way there's a Manchester scene or a Liverpool scene or a Birmingham scene. So, picking up on something like Up the Junction back in the day, it was, you know, kind of chimed in with the sort of things I was trying to write about where I lived.”

Glenn reflects on the impact of New Wave: “I think that (New Wave) was tremendously influential for a band like us," he said.

"All that background chatter, what Charlie Gillett was playing, was really nurturing, and it really informed our knowledge and how we could move forward as writers.”

Yet while the three musicians celebrate their own careers, they also share concerns about the future of British music.

Chris warns: "There just aren't enough places for younger people to play."

He recalls how Brighton once offered numerous opportunities for emerging performers.

"When I first moved to Brighton there were maybe 20 pubs where young students could go and play. Now those pubs have turned into coffee bars,” said Chris.

Billy agrees that grassroots venues provide an irreplaceable training ground. He said: "Grassroots venues are where you find out whether your songs connect with people. You can only do so much in your bedroom.

“Ultimately, you have to find out if people are going to engage with what you're doing. And it's better that you do that in a small venue because you know that you're not going to get a gig in a big venue.

"That circuit's gone, which is a shame because it's kind of a place to develop."

Billy is excited about starting the tour in Scotland.He said: "I've done some of my favourite ever gigs in Glasgow.

"Starting the whole tour in Glasgow for me is just absolutely brilliant. The Glasgow audience, their enthusiasm is legendary."

Glenn and Chris say London O2 will be a special homecoming.

“I love that sense of connection," said Glenn. "So if I walk from my house down to the studio, I walk along the river and just feel that the connection with how long I've known, I've been in that area all my life and I love it still. So, that's going to make the O2 something special for us. “

Chris added: "When you play at the O2, I can imagine that on that plot somewhere would have been my dad's office."

The tour also carries a message of compassion, highlighting the work of Trussell, the UK anti-poverty charity supporting a nationwide network of food banks and campaigning to end hunger.

Billy says: "It's great that the Trussell Trust are involved in this tour. Providing people who have fallen on hard times with not just food parcels, but other kinds of support as well is really, really important."

For fans, however, the main attraction remains the opportunity to enjoy three distinctive voices in British music, united by a love of songwriting and performing.

As Billy puts it: "I think I'll be very at home with Squeeze’s audience."

Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour dates

Thu, Nov 12, OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Fri, Nov 13, Opera House, Blackpool

Sat, Nov 14, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Mon, Nov 16, O2 City Hall, Newcastle

Tue, Nov 17, Stockton Globe, Stockton-on-Tees

Thu, Nov 19, Connexin Live, Hull

Fri, Nov 20, first direct bank arena, Leeds

Sat, Nov 21, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

Mon, Nov 23, O2 Apollo, Manchester

Thu, Nov 26, The O2, London

Fri, Nov 27, Utilita Arena, Cardiff

Sat, Nov 28, Utilita Arena, Birmingham

Mon, Nov 30, Swansea Building Society Arena

Tue, Dec 1, Plymouth Arena

Thu, Dec 3, Portsmouth Guildhall

Fri, Dec 4, Bournemouth International Centre

Sat, Dec 5, Brighton Centre