Claim OwnershipI Never Thought It Would Happen
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Singer-songwriter Chris Difford (Squeeze) is joined by musical guests to talk about the highs and lows of their career in this new podcast from Help Musicians. Series 4 returns on Tuesday March 19th with James Blunt. Listen to our previous episodes now and find out more at http://www.HelpMusicians.org.uk
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Chris Difford is joined in this episode by Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of the Glasgow band Texas, who've blended pop, rock and soul with huge success since their breakout single 'I Don't Want A Lover' back in 1989.
The band have since enjoyed an incredible run of hit singles and number one albums, but have also overcome an 8 year hiatus and the shocking brain aneurysm of guitarist Ally McErlaine. But with a triumphant Glastonbury appearance in 2023, and a new album recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio, Texas are still very much a force to be reckoned with.
With Chris Difford for another episode of his podcast is Jack Cochrane, frontman for the West Lothian four-piece, The Snuts, a guitar driven act citing The Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines as influences.
The band formed at school in 2015, with a single 'Glasgow' appearing in 2016, and since then, Jack and his band have enjoyed a remarkable and rapid ride to success with their 2021 debut album 'W.L.' hitting the number one slot in 2021. Over the last 8 years they've proven a hard working and prolific act, with an ever expanding and devoted fanbase. Their latest album 'Millennials' has received rave reviews - something that's all the sweeter as The Snuts walked away from their major label record deal and released it on their own record label instead.
Singer-songwriter Gabrielle joins Chris to discuss her career as a music maker. The London born singer was a huge music fan growing up, loving the music she heard on the radio and TV from acts like Wham, Haircut 100, Duran Duran and Adam And The Ants. And she was also exposed to the records of Barry White, Motown, Michael Jackson and Bobby Womack which her mum played.
This broad love of music would make Gabrielle an artist who could touch a diverse audience, something that became evident when her very first single, 1991's 'Dreams', went to number one in the UK. Since then she's proven to be a distinctive musician with an incredible string of hit singles and albums, has toured with Al Green and even got a co-write with Bob Dylan.
On this episode of his podcast, Chris welcomes the Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith to talk about the fine art of music making.
Starting his music career in a band that couldn't really play, then screaming his head off in a hard rock band, Ron finally found his voice making music more influenced by his Canadian forebears like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. His songs have been covered by Feist, kd Lang, Katie Melua, Rod Stewart, Emmylou Harris, Rod Stewart and Nick Lowe. He's collaborated with Chris Martin and Leonard Cohen, whilst Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney are both fans of his work. And he and Chris share a great story about meeting Macca.
Joining Chris for a chat about the fine art of music making is the amazing Norah Jones, who's released a string of albums that have constantly surprised and delighted, and which have covered a lot of ground musically; from jazz, blues and country to folk, pop and even punk.
Norah burst onto the scene in 2002 with the hit single, 'Don't Know Why', from the album 'Come Away With Me', which has now sold 27 million copies worldwide. Since then she's won 9 Grammys and worked with a dazzling array of musicians, including Ray Charles, Billie Joe Armstrong, Danger Mouse, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Herbie Hancock... to name just a few.
Chris Difford is back with his charming and insightful podcast series, 'I Never Thought It Would Happen'. In this first episode in the new series, Chris chats to the ever-excellent James Blunt.
James is a hugely talented and highly respected artist who has sold over 20 million records. His self-aware, self-effacing character is just part of his charm.
His current album 'Who We Used To Be' is another deeply personal album and his book 'Loosely Based On A Made-Up Story' is typical of James. It's funny, moving and refreshingly honest. It's a pleasure to welcome James Blunt to the podcast - brought to you by our friends at the charity 'Help Musicians'.
1Series 4 of the hit podcast 'I Never Thought It Would Happen' with Chris Difford is back on March 19th. We return with a joyous and eclectic guest list from James Blunt to Wolfgang Van Halen. From Norah Jones to Ron Sexsmith and all in aid of the wonderful charity Help Musicians. Find out more at www.HelpMusicians.org.uk
Alongside Chris for a candid conversation about the fine art of music-making is Chris Robertson, lead singer and guitarist for Kentucky hard rockers Black Stone Cherry. The band formed in 2001 in their teens, and this bunch of musical brothers quickly went from being hometown heroes to getting signed and then on to touring the world with key influences like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Whitesnake and Bad Company.
In between recording vocal takes for their new album, "Screamin' At The Sky" (out September) Chris talks to Chris about his mental health battles, the influence his late dad had on his career, the night he met Jeff Beck and the joy of getting to headline the Royal Albert Hall, where so many of his heroes had played over the decades.
Chris' guest on this episode is Lauren Mayberry, the vocalist of the critically acclaimed Scottish synth-pop act Chvrches. Ten years into their career, the band have already enjoyed an amazing ride so far, from hit singles to playing the Royal Albert Hall and recording at Berlin's legendary Hansa studios.
In a fascinating chat, Lauren discusses her musical journey so far, including her move from Glasgow to Los Angeles, how lockdown changed her writing style for the better and the pleasure of touring with Coldplay.
On this episode of his podcast Chris welcomes the exciting young singer Olivia Dean, an artist who is hugely influenced by Carol King, Paul Simon and Amy Winehouse.
Olivia was raised in a house where her parents played a lot of different music, and which was proved to be hugely influential on her future career. And then when she attended the famous BRIT school she not only found her song-writing chops but also her band. During this insightful chat with Chris, Olivia discusses her approach to lyric writing, the wonder that is the Glastonbury festival and how she'd already achieved her 3 career goals by the time her debut album "Messy" was finished.
For this episode of "I Never Thought It Would Happen" Chris is joined by musical theatre pioneer Andrew Lloyd Webber, a man The New York times called "the most commercially successful composer in history". Andrew inarguably changed musical theatre forever with a an incredible run of musicals including Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express and The Phantom of The Opera, to name but a few.
In this conversation we learn how Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat was first performed at a school, that Jesus Christ Superstar was an album before it became a play and Andrew also gives away the secret to writing a hit musical.
Alongside Chris this time is musical pioneer and stye icon, Pauline Black of the 2-Tone legends The Selecter. The Coventry ska band not only influenced many UK post-punk bands, but would also later help shape Trip-hop and the American punk scene in the 1990s.
There's much to enjoy in this warm and open conversation, including why a chance meeting at a folk club set Pauline on her musical path, how Jimi Hendrix and Angela Davis helped her find her style and why a Bob Marley gig proved to be so critical to future of The Selecter.
Joining Chris this time is Gavin Rossdale, best known as frontman for the rock band Bush, a British group that managed to rack up millions of album sales in the American dominated grunge scene. He was later a tabloid fixture due to his marriage to Gwen Stefani.
In Chris' company Gavin discusses why he's gone "super-heavy" 30 years into his career, how he collaborates with other musicians (including pianist Mike Garson and Amy from Evanescence), why he enjoys acting and how writing music is a "traumatic experience".
On this episode of his podcast Chris welcomes back singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. When Chris last spoke with KT two years ago, her future as a musician looked bleak, given she was suffering from severe hearing loss.
But KT returns with a hugely positive story - cutting edge technology has allowed her to regain her hearing, and with that the ability to perform and record to her very best. Along with this remarkable update, the conversation also touches upon KT's delight at working collaboratively within musical theatre, her love of humorist Ivor Cutler and the delightful Japanese art of Kintsugi.
For this episode Chris is joined by Kevin Rowland, frontman for Dexy's Midnight Runners, one of Britain's most distinctive bands. Having emerged out of the post-punk scene, Dexy's created a unique blend of soul and Irish folk music, and in doing scored a huge global hit single with "Come On Eileen" in 1982.
In this revealing chat, Kevin talks about his journey into music making, the remarkable story behind the "My Beauty" album, overcoming addiction and the forthcoming Dexy's album "The Feminine Divine" and the theatrical concept planned for the tour in support of the new album.
Joining Chris for the latest episode of the Help Musicians podcast is Skin, front woman for the British alternative band Skunk Anansie, and also a solo artist and globally renowned DJ. When Skunk Anansie arrived on the UK music scene in 1994 they were like a bolt from the blue; culturally diverse, exciting, eclectic, electric and politically charged. In April 2001, the band split, but returned in 2009 and are still recording and touring.
In this episode, Skin discusses the excitement of growing up in Brixton, why making music can be a form of therapy, the joy of having a home studio and how being a musician today entails so much more than simply writing and performing.
Chris’ guest in this episode is the polymath Henry Rollins. Punk records and live shows in Washington DC galvanised Henry to head out on the road and forge a hugely diverse career. He sang with punk legends Black Flag - plus his own group, Rollins Band - but has also done acting, voice-over work, spoken word shows, journalism, presented documentaries and has had a long running radio show.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Henry talks about his remarkable career and his passion for music, something which stemmed from his difficult upbringing where music was an escape for him. But perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of this conversation is Henry’s appreciation of the classic musicals. As you’ll hear, there’s much more to the man than just his punk rock roots.
In this episode, Chris talks to the singer-songwriter Lemar who was first introduced to music fans via the BBC television show Fame Academy. Following his successful appearance there came a string of hit singles, awards and millions of record sales. Apart from a covers album back in 2015, he’s been keeping a low profile of late. But after a wait of 11 years, he’s returned with "Page In My Heart", a new album of original material.
In Chris' company, Lemar discusses the music he heard at home growing up and how losing his mother inspired him to pursue a musical career, why touring means so much to him and how hard it is for an artist to maintain mystique in the social media age.
Joining Chris in this podcast is one of Britain’s greatest and most unique singer-songwriters, Joan Armatrading, who’s also a skilled guitarist with a spine-tingling voice. She released her first album in 1972 and since then she’s proven to be a fearless pioneer and pursued her musical muse with a single-minded determination, retaining total control of her music from writing to recording to performing.
In this episode Joan discusses her parents' curious relationship with musical instruments, her determined desire to learn how to play and record music and whether song-writing can be a form of therapy.
To kick off series three of I Never Thought It Would Happen, Chris Difford is joined by Kelly Jones, singer, songwriter and guitarist for Welsh stadium rockers Stereophonics. The band released their debut album in 1997 and experienced a meteoric rise to fame, subsequently enjoying 8 back to back number one albums in the UK, putting them in the same league as Oasis, REM and Taylor Swift.
In this conversation Chris and Kelly cover the highs and lows of life in a band; from growing up in a musical household, appearing on Top Of The Pops to the tragic early death of drummer Stuart Cable, a childhood friend of Kelly's and a founding member of Stereophonics. And bringing things up to date, the pair talk enthusiastically about Kelly's new side project, Far From Saints.
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Perhaps the best conversation so far – see you next week!
Delightful listening as ever – welcome back. And in the words of Stephen Duffy (now there’s a survivor), keep going
Fantastic interview, a brilliant and unexpected pairing. More please from Chris Difford!
Love it