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.

"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.

"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.

"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?'.

"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.

"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'.

“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

"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

"I've had a pretty tumultuous upbringing... I was pretty scared about being too honest about it all." - Jade Bird

Chatting with Chris in this episode is British singer-songwriter Jade Bird. Experiencing a difficult home life, Jade began writing songs early, aged just 12. She was in her teens when Glassnote Records signed her, with her self-titled debut album appearing in 2019. Her second album, 'Different Kinds Of Light' followed in 20121, and after a 4 year wait, she's now about to release her third album, 'Who Wants To Talk About Love'.

She's collaborated with Brent Cobb, co-written with Linda Perry and has been championed by Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell. Musically she cites artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and David Bowie as key influences and hence it's not surprise to find her music-making is revealing, honest and eclectic.

Find out more about Jade Bird here:

https://www.jade-bird.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

"It was alien, extremely alien. And it looked alien... with the buttons. What is this machine? What is this thing?" - Abel Selaocoe, on his brother's bassoon.

For this episode, Chris welcomes a South African cellist, singer and composer, who's now resident in Manchester. Inspired by all sorts of different music he heard through the radio, Abel discovered the cello as a pre-teen and at 13 won a scholarship to study music in Johannesburg. Continuing his studies, he moved to Manchester at 18 to attend the Royal Northern College of Music.

In 2021 Warner Classics signed Abel and he's released two albums; his debut 'Where Is Home/Hae ke Kae' featured a guest appearance from Yo-Yo Ma, and his second 'Hymns Of Bantu' enjoyed rave reviews and went to No1 on the OCC Specialist Classical Chart.

In this conversation you'll hear how Abel was encouraged in his music making by his older brother Sammy, the seeds of his eclectic musical style, his inclusive attitude towards live performances and his admiration for the poet John Cooper Clark.

Find out more about Abel Selaocoe's new album here:

https://www.abelselaocoe.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