I Never Thought It Would Happen

Chris Difford
  • 4.8 (58)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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 www.HelpMusicians.org.uk

  1. INTIWH - James Morrison

    09/01/2025

    INTIWH - James Morrison

    “That’s what I’ve always tried to lean into is playing live, writing the songs and playing them live, is mainly why I’m still doing it, you know? I never get tired of playing live. I never get tired of making stuff up and seeing where I can go with it” - James Morrison Chris is joined by singer-songwriter James Morrison to talk about the fine art of music making and the highs and lows that an artist experiences. James was inspired from a very early age by his parent's record collection, and soon he was learning guitar and other people's songs. By his late teens he was fitting carpets by day and playing open mics at night before finally signing a deal and releasing his first album 'Undiscovered' in 2006. And James' debut was an instant success making him the biggest selling male solo artist in the UK that year. James has since recorded 3 more albums, and his 5th, 'Fight Another Day', is due out in early October 2025.

    30 min
  2. INTIWH - Kelsie Watts

    08/18/2025

    INTIWH - Kelsie Watts

    "It's a universal language, it really is. Even if you're not speaking the language... you know, you can sing these songs and it'd just be like a wave of emotion and they can relate to it, even if they can't understand the words you're saying" - Kelsie Watts With Chris for this episode is Kelsie Watts who's currently performing in the huge award winning Broadway hit "Six The Musical" based on the wives of Henry VIII, with Kelsie playing the  part of Jane Seymour. She's also pursuing a pop career, and has worked with Backstreet Boy AJ McLean and has toured with Joss Stone and stadium rockers Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Kelsie grew up in a musical family in Lubbock, Texas - famously Buddy Holly's hometown - and studied opera at Belmont University in Nashville. In 2020 she was invited by the producers of The Voice to take part, where she made a huge impression with an astonishing cover of Kelly Clarkson's "I Dare You" that quickly went viral.

    27 min
  3. INTIWH - Craig Armstrong

    08/11/2025

    INTIWH - Craig Armstrong

    "A professor of mine said a very true thing to me. He said, you know the great thing about music Craig is that you’ll never really know anything about it" - Craig Armstrong This episode features a fascinating conversation with the multi-genre spanning musician and composer Craig Armstrong. Craig has collaborated with huge artists like U2, Madonna and Massive Attack, toured with Ultravox in their mid-Eighties pomp and has written for The Royal Shakespeare Company and scored films like Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo + Juliet'. And he's also found time to make his own records, his latest being a collaboration with Calum Martin inspired by Gaelic psalm singing.

    40 min
  4. INTIWH - Amy MacDonald

    06/09/2025

    INTIWH - Amy MacDonald

    "We all take music for granted, really. But it's kind of with us through every memorable part of our lives. And to just have it as such a meaningful occupation, but to not properly support the people that make it seems absolutely crazy" - Amy MacDonald Joining Chris for this episode is singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald, who's fate was sealed when she saw fellow Scots Travis live for the first time - she quickly realised that this was what she wanted to do with her life! The start to her career was remarkable: she was signed off the back of a demo she sent out, aged just 18 and then when she released her debut album, 'This Is The Life', it quickly sold 3 million copies. Since then she's toured with Paul Weller, worked with Ray Davies of The Kinks and performed alongside Rod Stewart. And she's soon to release her 6th album, 'Is This What You've Been Waiting For?'.

    37 min
  5. INTIWH - Victoria Canal

    06/02/2025

    INTIWH - Victoria Canal

    "The thing that he said that struck me most was, you don't get people's attention more by being louder... you make them want to lean in when you pull back. The moments that resonate the most are when I pull back" - Victoria Canal In this episode of Chris' podcast, he's joined by singer-songwriter Victoria Canal. A globe-trotting childhood, with all of its upheavals and changes, led Victoria to finding in music solace and purpose. She started writing music as a pre-teen, recorded her first demo at 13 and soon after gained a scholarship to study at the Berklee College Of Music. Having released her first single in 2015, she's put out a considerable number of standalone tracks in her own name, as well as collaborations, however it was only this year that Victoria finally released her debut album, 'Slowly, It Dawns'. She's also the winner of not one, but two Ivor Novello awards.

    37 min
  6. INTIWH - Theodore Shapiro

    05/26/2025

    INTIWH - Theodore Shapiro

    "I have a very vivid memory of seeing 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' when I was nine and that was a very profound experience for me, because I loved the movie. I was very aware of what that music was doing to my experience..." - Theodore Shapiro In this episode Chris explores a whole new world of music making in the company of composer Theodore Shapiro. Theodore has written music for a whole host of film and TV productions, but his incredible work on the mind-bending Apple TV series 'Severance' has brought him huge acclaim, attention and an Emmy Award. Theodore gained his Master Of Fine Arts in music composition at the world famous Juilliard School, and began his career in the early Nineties with the MTV comedy series 'The State'. He's since composed the music for many films including 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Along Came Polly' and regularly collaborates with Ben Stiller, with their latest work together being 'Severance'.

    36 min
  7. INTIWH - ALT BLK ERA

    05/19/2025

    INTIWH - ALT BLK ERA

    “Because we write in so many genres, it’s always exciting to song write. Because today it’s like, we can write a D+B song and tomorrow we can write an Emo song. So it doesn’t get boring, because there’s always a new genre that you haven’t written in” - ALT BLK ERA In this episode Chris is joined by not one, but two guests - sisters Nyrobi and Chaya who front ALT BLK ERA, one of the most eclectic and electric acts you'll hear; a band so diverse that they've won a MOBO and are also signed to the legendary Metal label Earache, who are based in the band's hometown of Nottingham. The band came together during the downtime that COVID brought, and when restrictions were lifted their mum suggested they forget school and concentrate on their music instead. And in a few short years they've supported Tom Morello, released their thrilling debut album 'Rave Immortal' and played both Glastonbury and Download. Find out more about ALT BLK ERA here: https://www.altblkera.com/ Discover more about the amazing work of Help Musicians here: https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/ 'I Never Thought It Would Happen' is produced by Ian Callaghan and Ben Jones for Gimme Sugar Productions. www.gimmesugar.co.uk

    39 min
  8. INTIWH - Gary Kemp

    05/12/2025

    INTIWH - Gary Kemp

    "Back when I was a kid, I didn't want to know what Bryan Ferry's kitchen looked like, you know? I couldn't even imagine him having one... People don't want that now. Why don't they want mystique?" - Gary Kemp In conversation with Chris for this episode is Gary Kemp, now a solo artist and a member of Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets. It was Gary's sharp songwriting that brought him to prominence and fame in the Eighties with his band Spandau Ballet, and such huge hits as 'True' and 'Gold'. In this wonderful chat, you can hear about why bands aren't necessarily a bunch of best friends, the pleasure of acting on stage, how the long-lost guitar Gary played at Live Aid was finally returned to him and how and why he wrote the songs that became his latest album 'This Destination'. Find out more about Gary Kemp here: https://www.garykemp.com/ Discover more about the amazing work of Help Musicians here: https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/ 'I Never Thought It Would Happen' is produced by Ian Callaghan and Ben Jones for Gimme Sugar Productions. www.gimmesugar.co.uk

    45 min
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4.8
out of 5
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About

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 www.HelpMusicians.org.uk

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Difford
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Gimme Sugar Limited, Help Musicians, Chris Difford
  • Show Website
    I Never Thought It Would Happen

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