Chichester singer's Christmas single could be in the running for the top spot

SussexWorld

Chichester-based singer-songwriter Chris Simmons could just be in the running for the Christmas number one with a heartfelt new track dealing with grief.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. It's always

00:06lovely to speak to Chichester musician, singer-songwriter Chris Simmons. And Chris, you've got a…

00:12Hey Phil, how are you?

00:14I'm fine, thank you. You have a Christmas single out, and it's one with a really serious

00:19underlying message, whilst being, as you say, a joyful, positive song. Tell me about it.

00:25Yeah, the song's called A Cold December, and it's about how Christmas isn't always

00:32an easy time for people. I've suffered a bit of loss in my time, and the song, the

00:40whole writing process of the song, sort of came from that personal experience of, you

00:45know, there being an empty chair at the table, and how remembering people can be a positive

00:54thing, and also just, like, looking out for your friends.

00:56Absolutely. And in nine years, as you say, you lost your brother, your mother, your dad.

01:02Is the song helping you to cope with the loss, or have you reached that point where you're

01:07coping?

01:10I don't think you… I don't think writing the song helped me, really. I think it would

01:20be sort of nice if it helps other people, people who listen to it. I'm getting a lot

01:25of messages to say that it is, which is great. I think songwriting, in general, is like a

01:31cathartic experience. It is, you know, committing stuff to the page does a lot of good for you.

01:38So in terms of my own…

01:41I don't think your writing really does count, doesn't it? It really matters.

01:44Oh, massively, massively.

01:45Objects such as this, doesn't it?

01:47Well, it's like, yeah, the whole reason I, you know, most songwriters write is because

01:53they want to connect with people, and they want to articulate thoughts that, you know,

02:00you might share with people. And so, yeah, the fact that this song really seems to be

02:06resonating…

02:07Yeah. How can you write a song that was born in such loss, but it's still positive? How

02:14do you manage to be positive?

02:17I think through, like, lots of drafts of lyrics, it's very easy to go the other way with a

02:25song like this. So I think you've just got to be… you've got to really tread carefully

02:28and just think about, like… well, for me, I was just like, what am I trying to say here?

02:35I don't want pissy, and I don't think… you don't want to labour a point. I wanted to

02:41make a song that was about Christmas, that also highlights that it isn't an easy time

02:47for people. And that is, you know, that can be a hopeful thing. And…

02:52But the positive is that you're not alone, isn't it?

02:57Absolutely. And there's warmth in remembrance. There is, you know, it can be a warming thing.

03:05And I don't think we look at it like that in our society that much. But, you know, when

03:10I think of my mum, my dad, my brother, and my best mate, Gareth, who passed this year,

03:16and when I think of those people, I feel happy and warm that, you know, they're in my life.

03:24And I think, you know, as a culture, we don't really talk about it in that way. But, you know,

03:30personally, you know, I think they would like to be spoken about in that way. And

03:37that's how I carry them anyway. So, yeah, the basic essence of the song is that

03:44remembrance is a positive thing. And, yeah, just keep an eye out for everybody. And

03:50Christmas can be a good time.

03:52That was a fabulous, beautiful, important song. Congratulations on it. Where can people hear?

03:57On the usual platforms, is it?

04:00All the usual platforms, yeah. And quite a few of the local radio stations have playlisted it. So,

04:07hopefully, you'll be able to hear it on the radio as well. So that'd be lovely.

04:12Brilliant. It's a cold December. And it's out now, then?

04:17It's out now.

04:19Brilliant. Well, lovely to speak to you, Chris. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended