"Tempted" is a song by the British rock band Squeeze. Written by the Squeeze songwriting team of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello. "Tempted" was released as the second single from their fourth album, East Side Story, in 1981. The single was only a moderate chart hit at the time; however, it has since become one of the band's most famous songs, appearing in movies, TV shows, video games, and commercials. It has also seen critical acclaim and has become a mainstay of the band's live setlist, often being sung by Tilbrook. Background "Tempted" was cowritten by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. 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, Unlike most other Squeeze songs, which are sung usually by Tilbrook or Difford, the song's lead vocal is sung by newly recruited keyboardist Paul Carrack. According to Carrack, this was the result of a suggestion by co-producer Elvis Costello: Costello noted that, while Tilbrook initially took offence to ceding lead vocal duties to Carrack, the personnel change benefitted the song: "Guess what, we had a hit with it, so I guess I was right in that respect. I heard Paul putting it over to a broader audience." Tilbrook similarly recalled, "[Carrack] did a remarkable job [although] my ego was bruised initially." Though the original arrangement, according to Tilbrook, "sounded like ELO," the final version song instead features a Temptations-style performance that featured Tilbrook and Costello performing parts of the song's second verse. 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". Squeeze bassist John Bentley ranked it his fourth favorite Squeeze song.