The Squires

The Squires
Poster for The Squires
Background information
Origin	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genres	Surf, rock
Years active	1963–1965
Labels	V Records
Associated acts	Buffalo Springfield
Past members	Neil Young Allan Bates Jack Harper Ken Smyth Ken Koblun Jeff Wuckert

The Squires or Neil Young & The Squires were a Canadian band formed in 1963 in Winnipeg. It was one of the first bands of singer-songwriter Neil Young.

On July 23, 1963, The Squires were recorded by Harry Taylor of local radio station CKRC in a tiny two-track recordings studio. These recordings were released later that year as a single released by V Records. 300 records were pressed, only around 10 are known to still exist, which makes it one of the rarest 45 rpm records around the world.

On April 2, 1964, the group again entered CKRC studios to record with Harry Taylor, and, according to Young recorded "about twenty songs". According to drummer Ken Smyth, these were for a possible deal with London Records of Canada.

On November 23, 1964, while on tour in Fort William, Ontario, The Squires were recorded by local CJLX radio DJ to the station studio where two versions of "I'll Love You Forever" were recorded.

Young's 2009 collection "The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972" opened with six recordings by The Squires, including the V Records single, mastered from a vinyl copy.

The band used to play at community clubs, high school dances and proms. They played a lot of The Shadows, The Ventures, The Fireballs songs. Neil started writing songs and they played them regularly. The band also played engagements out of town, including as far away as Fort William, Ontario, and Churchill, Manitoba.