Alan Edwards is our next guest on I Never Thought It Would Happen
Alan has worked with musicians such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Blondie
As we draw towards the end of Series 4 of I Never Thought It Would Happen, we are thrilled to welcome Alan Edwards to the show. In a career spanning over four decades as a PR, he has worked with some of the biggest names in music: The Who, The Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse, Spice Girls and David Bowie to name a few.
There are some fantastic stories in this episode, as Alan speaks with Chris about some of the most interesting musicians he has worked with and met over the years.
In particular, his anecdotes about David Bowie and Mick Jagger are not to be missed. Alan reveals that Jagger was very much plugged into the business side of music. When Alan was working for the Rolling Stones in the 80s, Jagger would expect detailed dossiers from Alan for the press conferences he attended (sometimes across different countries in the same day).
Bowie was similarly focused on details and if he was doing an interview, would want to know who he was speaking with and see examples of their recent work. This not only kept Alan at the top of his game but also meant that the interviews were brilliant. Jagger and Bowie used to love doing interviews and saw them as an art form in themselves.
This episode contains many more entertaining anecdotes about Alan’s time working with the likes of The Stranglers and The Who, and his story about being hired by Blondie is an episode highlight.
Alan has recently finished a book about his experiences in the music industry which will be released in 2024. He is relieved to have written all of his memories down because there are so many great stories and this way they will be preserved.
This week’s episode also features a contribution from Benny Bizzie, a musician who has brought a wealth of experience as a self-made grime and RnB artist to our Co-Pilot mentoring scheme.
Co-Pilot offered Benny an opportunity to formalise the mentoring he had always been doing unofficially and he felt really fulfilled by helping someone along their journey and seeing them grow. He said, “I am glad things like Co-Pilot exist to give the voiceless a voice, and a safe place for young musicians to speak, grow and learn how to navigate their career.”
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Series 4 and rest assured there are plenty more exciting episodes to come over the next few weeks. Make sure you listen and subscribe by following the links provided below.