I Never Thought It Would Happen

“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 arti...

"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 w...

" 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...

"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 -...

"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 fin...

"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 fi...

“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 a...

"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 a...

"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, 'D...

"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 sch...

"I don't know who the man is that lives inside my body... but I'm so glad he turns up." - Thom Rylance. Chatting with Chris in this episode is Thom Rylance of The Lottery Winners. The indie-pop 4 piece from Greater Manchester took their cues from bands like The Smiths and Orange Juice as well as the Britpop scene and have quickly risen to the top. Such is their wide-ranging appeal they've collabor...

Chris Difford returns with Series 5 of his hit podcast ' I Never Thought It Would Happen ' - coming soon! Made in collaboration with Help Musicians , Chris is celebrating his 50th anniversary in the business, so in addition to talking to some brilliant artists he will also be answering your questions about songwriting, performing, a life on the road and much more...so send your questions to Chris@...

For a bonus episode of his podcast, Chris welcomes Travis frontman Fran Healy. Emerging from Glasgow in the mid 90s, and now in their fourth decade together, Travis were inspirational to a number of like-minded British guitar bands like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Keane. Travis 2nd album, 1999's 'The Man Who', was a became a huge hit globally, fuelled by the unstoppable single 'Why Does It Always Ra...

Joining Chris is Mark Knopfler, the revered singer-songwriter and a masterful guitar player, with a totally distinctive sound and style. Always fascinated with music, Mark worked as a junior reporter and studied English before finally realising his long held dream of finding the right band. That band was Dire Straits, whose ascent was remarkable with their 5th studio album 'Brothers In Arms' becom...

Joining Chris for this episode is legendary PR man Alan Edwards. During his 45 years working in the music industry he's worked with the likes of David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Spice Girls, Michael Jackson, The Stranglers, Blondie, Paul McCartney and Amy Winehouse. Alan began his career under the tutelage of another music PR legend, Keith Altham, whose clients included Jimi Hendrix, The Who,...

Joining Chris today is songwriter Guy Chambers, best known for his work co-writing hits like 'Millennium', 'Angels', 'Let Me Entertain You' and 'Rock DJ' with Robbie Williams.  Having graduated from The Guildhall School Of Music, Guy went straight to work with Julian Cope, then joined The Waterboys before moving onto World Party. And alongside his hugely successful run of hits with Robbie, Guy has...

Chris is joined by Scottish vocalist Eddi Reader for this episode, to chat about her fascinating career in music. From busking around Europe, to singing backing vocals for artists as diverse as Gang of Four, Eurythmics and Alison Moyet to finding fame - and having a number one single - with Fairground Attraction. But the band's success was fleeting and they splintered after just one album. But Fai...

Chris' guest in this episode is Leeds born singer songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae. Though Corinne appeared to have success straight away with her first single, 'Like A Star', she'd already been through the painful process of having her first band fall apart - the punky 3 piece Helen she'd formed with friends.  But a change in musical direction - partly inspired by work at a jazz club - yielded immed...

In this episode, Chris welcomes rapidly rising rock star Wolfgang Van Halen. Now fronting his own band, Mammoth, Wolfie made his stage debut at 16 playing bass alongside his dad Eddie and uncle Alec in the legendary rock band Van Halen.  Like his dad, Wolfie started his musical journey playing drums, before also picking up the guitar and bass. For his two albums with Mammoth, Wolfie is not only th...

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 McErl...

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 '...

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 woul...

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 be...

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 s...

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 anot...