Chris Helme how I wrote Blinded by the Sun, You Can Talk to me and why The Seahorses split up.
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- Опубліковано 11 лис 2020
- SONGWRITERS ON SONGWRITING WITH THE SEAHORSES FORMER FRONTMAN CHRIS HELME
Chris Helme talks about songwriters block, his own songwriting process and where he gets songwriters inspiration. I'm Gavin Simpson and Song Stories is my songwriting podcast. In my episodes I talk to songwriters and composers, asking questions on songwriting structure, songwriter advice, songwriter inspiration and more. You'll get songwriters tips including brilliant. If you are interested in my songwriters podcast - don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
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• Chris Helme how I wrot...
Link to full interview on the pod if anyone intersted smarturl.it/TheSeahorses
Good question it must b a good song as john squire liked it hard to please
@Karma Surround Thanks so much.
The seahorses wouldnt have been anything without the voice of Chris Helme, plus he contributed fabulous songs
True that!
The problem with John Squires was, he wanted musicians to play along with his music. And what he ended up with was a band. If he had rolled with it, they would of been massive. As a band they were superb.
Yeah I loved when I saw them live, and I think everyone curious to know what might of come . Makes the one album a cool legacy though. Thanks for comments :)
Just been to see Chris live doing an acoustic show - absolutely amazing. He is criminally underrated as a songwriter and a singer
Agreed, great voice and pleased he's still touring
I saw the seahorses perform at 1st avenue in Minneapolis. Killer show. It’s a shame John couldn’t let Chris contribute more songs on 2nd album, but John wanted majority of Publishing. The Seahorses music has better longevity than Johns solo work.
Saw the seahorses at glasto and the secret gig at Blackburn king George's hall. Good times
thank God for this, really appreciate it man for the efforts reaching Chris Helme and tells us all the rare story, cheers from seahorses and john squire big fan in indonesia
Really appreciate your comments my friend. Great to hear that the band made an impact in Indonesia. Hope you are well, thanks again :)
You Can Talk To Me always gets forgotten about as it was a stand alone single, I think it even got top 10 or at least top 20 in the UK. But a lot of Britpop era bands did that release stand alone singles that many people end up forgetting about. But it's a great song to be fair. The whole Do It Yourself album is pretty damn strong album, Blinded By the Sun is one of it's top 3 songs for sure. They had some great b-sides too that you can find on UA-cam. Helme was a pretty damn good singer and the songs were strong. Shame they didn't do more.
Thanks for watching and on the same page on your comments. I think at the time the UK was blessed with loads of great bands, could do with some more now!
I tried looking for a list of standalone Britpop singles, ages ago. Suede (Come Together), Blur (Popscene), Oasis (Whatever), Bluetones (Marblehead Johnson), Mansun (Closed For Business), Cast (can’t remember off the top of my head! Flying, maybe?). Happy to hear more!
Legend , MASSIVLEY UNDERATED , awesome voice .
Blinded by the Sun was so much better than Love is the Law (which is an amazing song) , Probably the best song of the Album.
If Chris hadn't have stuck his heels in then he would have been "guns to hire" in John Squire's band. Integrity and honesty 👏👌
Thanks for commenting Chris and agree!
Chris is his own person and knows what he wants. You shouldn't placate to anyone no matter who they are. If u aren't feeling it then u have to speak up.
HI Luke, thanks for the comment.
Good interview, and great to see Chris’s face. My daughter actually supported Chris when he played a solo gig in Hull many moons ago - a really nice bloke!
That's on your daughter, and agree Chris was super nice and generous with his time.
I went to see him in Preston just before Covid kicked off, and he came and sat at our table for about an hour before his set. Nicest bloke in the world.
@@DrunkChimp That's class. Like
I always thought that Blinded by the sun was Seahorses' best song and their only song you can fairly call a hit song. But i had no idea it was written by Chris, i always thought it was John's. I saw them once live, supporting Rolling Stones and i thought that apart from "Blinded" the only interesting thing about them was John's guitar playing.
Little did i know back then, i was a complete idiot! Maybe it was that too big shadow of a Stone Roses that blinded me.
Now I absolutely love the Seahorses, they're one of my favourite bands 💖
Blinded is still their biggest song in my eyes tho and one of the greatest songs ever written,i'll never get bored with that 😍
My favourite too, such a tune! Thanks for commenting 😊
Compared to earlier interviews it seems like almost 25 years on Chris has more respect for John and I would hope it's the same the other way round. The Seahorses were a great band and their songwriting together complimented eachother.
As mentioned here if the songs were good enough to go on the first album and have stood the test of time maybe if John was more open to collaborate on album #2 maybe they'd have got somewhere. Equally, sounds like Chris has a few regrets too.
Would be good if they all got in a room together to see what happens, sounds like they'd both have a lot more respect for one another
Great comment, and totally agree!
What a sound fella.
Is was great thank you for this, would be interesting to here from the other members of the band!!
Thanks very much Mark, I'll see what I can do. G
Cracking interview 👍
Thanks for watching and glad you like it.
Great interview 👍🏻
Thanks sir
Loved how open and honest he was!
Aww thanks for for watching Jennifer - glad you like. Chris was great value, we've some more great catch ups to follow.
he's modest and humble. loved the sea horses album i was 16 when it was released maybe 17 but it was great time for music, fun loving criminals come find yourself and super furry animals. and these animal men.
Great interview Gavin👌 such a great voice Chris has and i gotta say, ive always thought Blinded By The Sun is just one of the best songs ever written, blows me away every time! Bought the album on vinyl the day it came out, quite rare now. 👍👍
Glad you like it, thanks. And agree on Blinded by the Sun - tunnneee..
Would you like to sell the vinyl?
@@oily_ragg would want mega money to sell that! Trillions!✌🏻😉
Feel for Chris but it sounds like John either stopped respecting him or more probably saw him as a threat as I understand they never got on so Chris was just a backing player for him. Loved the Seahorses and Blinded by the Sun was the sole reason for buying the album
Thanks for the comments and agree on that being a class tune.
Brill little piece mate..thank you...seen Chris obviously in the seahorses a few times back in the day..and solo down south..brilliant every time..I’m more or less a bedroom songwriter whose songs barely see the light of day but like to think I got some simple cord lil gems..catchy melody’s with canny lyrics about this that and the other...Chris has been 1 of many songwriters who’ve helped inspire me over the years..I wish he would release some more material!! It’s been too long man..if I was Chris I’d of stood me ground second album,crashed and burned the same..lived and played it his own way by the sounds of things..respect and fair play to the bloke ✌🏻💪🏻👍🏻
Hi Lee, thanks for your comment really appreciate it. Agree that Chris should release more material (he talks about it in the podcast version if you're interested). Glad to hear you're writing your own stuff, keep going..
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 I’ll av butchers at that mate cheers..I love all that kinda stuff
Cheers
@@leewhieldon4299 Top man. We did one with shed 7 last week which may be up your street too :) ua-cam.com/video/ZwokUBBms0w/v-deo.html
I remember Chris Helme really ripping into John Squire not too long ago in an interview. Calling his songs 'muso bollocks' if I remember correctly. I'm glad he's got over whatever problem he had with him, and seems to appreciate the opportunity he was given in joining one of the greatest guitarists of the 90's.
Edit:
Posted the above without watching the whole interview. Now I know why he said that.
John was horrible to Chris. Not only to Chris, either. The Roses consisted of strong characters.
The Roses were all peers. The Seahorses had been handpicked by John. Big difference in power dynamics.
I loved the seahorses and still do. Seen Chris doing solo stuff live and he’s fantastic and cracking voice
Thanks for comment Mike. Same and same :)
Met them backstage,great bunch of humble down to earth guys,and john... he seemed obsessed with led zeppelin on the blaster hardly said a word......blinded by the sun best single by far,great times.
Sounds like it!. Thanks for comment.
I like this guy. Very modest. Good singer too.
Agree x 3
Great brand great bloke
Yes and yes!
The Seahorses were Boss, easily one of the bands of the 90s, blinded by the sun is one of my all time fave songs
Class tune, great era of bands and songs.
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 quality band. Love is the law for me but all masterpieces. Absolutely brilliant, piss all over many of the so called greats.
@@Mctrippzy definitely I totally agree, if there had have been peace in the camp I’m sure we would have had a few great albums well into the 2000s, there was plenty of creativity in that band.....
Me and a couple of mates were in our early 20s and after been roses fans (mainly squire fans) we couldn’t wait to see you at Glastonbury. We loved the seahorses as much as the roses if not more. We followed you all over the country through ‘98 . Gigs that stood out were rock city at Nottingham just before v98. Then the v98 night itself was one of the best nights of my life because the verve folllowed you on at the height of urban hymns and it still stands out as biblical to me that night . For what it’s worth I liked the 2 or 3 new songs you were playing around the time of v98. By the way . We were squireittes but we thought Chris was brilliant. Seen you a couple of times over the years since and spoke to John about those gigs and actually got smiles from John so I believe he loved his band too.
Great stories, thanks for sharing.
I completely forgot about You can talk to me. I have been listening to the seahorses lately but that one slipped by me
Such a class tune and good song to end the Seahorses on.
Probably as it was a stand alone single it kind of gets overlooked but it's probably my favourite song they did along with Blinded by the Sun. I only remembered it recently when my younger brother mentioned it when we were talking about our favourite albums from Britpop era. Listened to it and forgot what a great song it was.
@@stevecheevers7337 Agree man, those two are definitely stand outs for me!
Chris' solo acoustic version is absolutely sublime. ua-cam.com/video/YjQOxXoUSCg/v-deo.html
@@DrunkChimp Agree, thanks for sharing.
An incredibly humble gentleman, phenomenal singer and songwriter. Squire had to blow it.
Agree, though the fact they only had one album makes it a cool story.
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 Yes, and I think Chris has a happy life. Maybe it was blessing.
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609Three, if you look carefully.
@@hemelhempsteadherts Go on....show me?
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 Minus Blue
Awesome vocalist.
Agree, thanks for commenting.
Makes me wonder if the seahorses were dominated by the fact that the seahorses were unknowns so John could push them around, his behavior in his next band Skunkworks with members of the Verve was interesting he left due to "songwriting and personality differences" translation he tried his rubbish with the two Simons but because they were on a level pegging they just told him to get stuffed.
Fair point, but of trend in John's bands demise. One of the best guitarists ever tho!
In my opinion Do It Yourself was the best album of the 1990s, my daughters boyfriend Joe knows one of the band members out of the seahorses, were Yorkshire lads aswel, where i live theres a good live music scene especially down at the little un pub run by an ex Tiny Dancers band member, another band that should've made it big!
There's some great songs on the first album. The mixing drives me nuts though, with John's guitar always pushed to the point it half drowns out the lyrics. It wasn't only a live performance problem with him insisting on being too loud. I'd love for it to be remastered to better serve the songs.
Brown was right. Squire just wanted to be his own Elvis
Seems that way.. hopefully get a chance to capture his side too
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 did the seahorses ever get asked for a reunion?
@@waynesilverman3048 it's been implied by Chris and John that finished. Having said that said I'd be buzzing to see it!
He did right to dig heels in.
How good is Chris Helme! So let me know what you think about the interview?
I guess there will always be some kind of trade off when you work with a genius, I think John felt Chris’s songs were not up to scratch for the potential 2nd album. There is a demo floating around it’s %100 written by John and let’s just it’s very heavy
@@alanbruce1061 Thanks for sharing thoughts Alan, I'd love to speak to John and understand dynamics from his side..
Great first album and saw them at the Apollo manchester with third eye blind ,outstanding. Didn’t get the 2nd album at all though, however after watching this it’s clear that John was disappearing up his own at the time
Thanks for watching, was lucky to see them live too. Anyone else you'd like us to get on?
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 yeh , I’d love to know the story behind Tom Hinckley’s departure from the inspirals mate
Great idea, thanks for that. @@johnchristopher792
Was a big seahorses fan,,,, and,, John found some great talented musicians,,,, Chris, Stuart, and Andy,,,,, it's a shame,, the way it all went,,,,,,,,,,, I spoke to Chris and Stuart, after the seahorses broke up,, and totally sound lads,,,,,, wish them all the best,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Thanks for comment Harry. Agree, they were a great band..
If I was in Chris’s shoes, I’d have done exactly the same!!!!
Shared the same studio when they did you can talk to me, riverside in ossett West Yorkshire, October 97’ I think 🤷♂️🤷♂️
That's cool on on the studio share.... any links to your stuff?
So sad they didn’t last
True, though great they left their stamp on the time they were together for.
Volume not loud enough
Thanks for feedback
He admitted here that he didn’t know much about the industry. Maybe he should’ve listened to John. They had fantastic songs and it’s a shame they didn’t have more!
Yeah defo another album or two in them!
John Squire only had crap songs after Do It Yourself
@@AK-pr2nk Fair point, kind of glad Stone Roses shelved that rumoured new album.
I disagree, John got screwed by his previous manager and he went and did exactly the same to his band mate's. Professional manager was needed.
Volume is low
John squires thought he was too big for this band that he had created. Shame it was short lived ..loved their stuff ..had to be played fucking loud though.
Such a shame John Squire destroyed this band. Always thought the seahorses should have reformed without John Squire. Any talented lead guitarist would replace him. As soon as Squire attempted to become the sole songwriter the band was finished.
Do wonder what what happened if they had, Chris was such (if not biggest) part of what made Seahorses good imo. That said not sure there are many of John Squire's talent.
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 there are many talented song writers chris Helme could of teamed up with and just had a leaf guitarist. Look how liam gallagher has done it.
@@AK-pr2nk Fair show mate. Out of interest anyone you'd like to hear interviewed or think would make good similar video?
Why didn't he or why not do it now then? Why did the roses crumble as soon as squire left. He might have a massive ego and be difficult, but there's no denying he has massive creative talent
Sorry mate im a massive seahorses fan and Chris has a fantastic voice. John squire in the other hand what ever u think of hes ego or all the other stories, is still a phenomenal guitar player and he's talent is the difference between a normal also ran band and a seahorses scale band. The biggest shame is that John alienated himself from Chris and Stuart and didn't work as a team as one . Its like velvet revolver Scott wieland v the rest of the band.
The Seahorses, OCS and the Verve circa 1997 were the main reasons I stopped listening to British “rock” 🤦♂️/indie music and moved on to stuff like Black Sabbath and Hawkwind. I never looked back lol 😂
Thanks for sharing your view. Any Black Sabbath song story you'd like to hear? (Might be hard to make happen!)
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 Thank you for getting back 👍. Snowblind or Children of the Grave would be amazing 👌. Thanks again 👍
I used to knock around some nebs we were listening to that stuff after acid house parties in the late 80s.
Chris is slowly morphing into Jerry Sadowitz.
Chris looks like he has heartburn..
I recall he was dehydrated, and had top stop for a drink during!
John treated this guy like garbage.
I was lucky enough to see them at T&V festivals during 98 & in later year's also seeing Chris at my hometown town hall "Cumbernauld" to this day i still listen to that album 👌
Me too.. a great band. His most recent single is pretty good, you heard?
@@gavinsimpsonsongstories1609 I'll check it out 🍻