Ron Sexsmith is Chris Difford’s third guest on Series 4 of I Never Thought It Would Happen

Stepping into the guest seat on I Never Thought It Would Happen this week is none other than Ron Sexsmith. Podcast host Chris Difford and Ron are old friends, so this episode gives them a chance to reminisce about the some of the best times they have spent in each other’s company over the years.

The episode begins with Ron describing a ​“top 5” moment of his life – when he met one of his musical idols, Paul McCartney. Ron was spending time with Chris in the UK for a Squeeze tour and was taken over to McCartney’s house for breakfast. They even played a few songs together on guitar and Ron was able to ask Paul some questions about Wings.

One of the reasons this meeting was so significant for Ron was because The Beatles were his biggest influence in becoming interested in music and wanting to start a band. It was the Fab Four along with artists like The Who and Kate Bush who adorned the walls of his bedroom as a kid. In his late teens and early 20s, musicians such as Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young would become reference points. 

Chris and Ron have a really interesting conversation about touring, where Ron reveals that despite the amount of time he has spent on the road during his career, somewhere along the line he became a nervous traveller and a home person. Initially he enjoyed doing many consecutive tours but then he found he missed his children and simple things like the school run. He felt he was starting to live a double life and Covid regulations have sucked some of the fun out of the touring experience for him.

This week’s episode also features a contribution from Fergus Quill, the 2023 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award winner. His musical project is called Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band, a thirty-member ensemble offering ​“musically intelligent chaos” to quote our Peter Whittingham panel.

Fergus will be using the charity’s support to record the group’s second album, a record which will hopefully transform Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band into a more viable musical group — ​“we previously made an album on very little money, which lead to a jump in the size of shows we were playing. We went from 100 capacity shows to 300. To make the band feasible we need to be playing 600 capacity venues. So the idea is that with a new album, recorded and promoted properly, we can make another jump and establish ourselves as a viable ensemble.”

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.