I Never Thought It Would Happen

Joining Chris for this episode is Doncaster born actor and genre hopping musician, Dominic Harrison - who's better known as Yungblud. In a funny, profound and sometimes profane conversation the duo cover everything from music as a close companion in childhood, seeing The Who live at 9 years old, eating pink tacos with Slash, to how fans can empower an artist (and vice-versa) and being in a co-dependent relationship with 5 million people.

Joining Chris in this episode is the world's foremost solo percussionist, Dame Evelyn Glennie. Topics covered in the conversation include her idyllic childhood in the spacious rural countryside of Aberdeenshire followed by the move to noisy, crowded London to study at the Royal Academy Of Music. The duo also touch upon the difficulties of touring the world with a selection of her 2000+ percussion instruments, the glass harp and Evelyn's admiration for Ed Sheeran.

Joining Chris on this episode is Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter, activist, "one-man Clash" and skiffle aficionado. Across the conversation Billy discusses his first musical loves, how hr came to pick up the guitar and his eye-opening trip to the United States, on tour with Echo And The Bunnymen. They also touch upon Kirsty MacColl, empathy in music, the art of writing books and the pros and cons of life in the army.

In this episode of Chris' podcast, he's joined by the composer, multi-instrumentalist and multi-award winning Nitin Sawhney. Raised in Kent in a musical family, the young Nitin would pore over his dad's eclectic record collection and try his hand at any instruments that took his fancy. Later he would study law and dabble with comedy and accountancy, before deciding to follow his true calling - music. And given he's since worked with Paul McCartney, Sinead O'Connor, Jeff Beck, Brian Eno and Ellie Goulding, it's proven to have been a smart choice. Nitin has also composed for TV, gaming and theatre, as well as forging a much acclaimed solo career.

Joining Chris in this episode is the vocal legend Ruby Turner. Born in Jamaica before moving to Birmingham in the Seventies, Ruby was brought up surrounded by music. In Chris' company, Ruby reveals that seeing the Jackson 5 live was a pivotal moment in her life, as was a live performance by Joan Armatrading. And so Ruby began her musical odyssey, working first with Culture Club, before she embarked on a solo career, now 20 albums deep. She's also worked with Bryan Ferry, UB40, Mick Jagger and has been a long time regular in Jools Holland's band. And she has an amazing story about her father and Johnny Cash.

In this episode, Chris is joined by Robbie Williams for a very funny and frank conversation. They cover everything from Robbie's childhood in a pub to the origins of Take That, how the songwriter within him was developed and the dark side of fame. And Robbie reveals how Ian Dury and the Britpop bands spurred him on to begin his extraordinary solo career, and elaborates on the pleasures and perils of being a totally committed showman.

Joining Chris in this first episode is Sting, the superstar songwriter, singer, band leader, actor and, of course, frontman for The Police. Chris has known Sting since the last Seventies, when they shared the same manager, Miles Copeland (brother of The Police drummer Stewart Copeland), and often the same stages, motels and station wagon to tour in. In this wide-ranging chat, they discuss Sting's childhood in Newcastle, how he became a musician, the background to The Police and why a musician should always give their all on stage... even if you're playing to just 3 people.

Episode 1 is out on Monday August 9th - subscribe now