22/03/2017 The One Show

Hello and welcome to the one show with Matt Baker and Angela Scanlon.

Tonight we are running 15 minutes late due to the extended news

coverage of today's events in Westminster. Shortly we looking

forward to chatting to our two guests, James Blunt and comedian Joe

Lycett. We shall be with you very shortly but first you don't need to

be a maths teacher to know that the skills are struggling to make the

sums add up when it comes to funding -- schools. As the government

prepares a new funding formula ministers have detailed some of the

cost-cutting measures they have been considering. They include shortening

the school day, selling school land and asking parents for donations and

those parents are not happy. The anger felt by parents, teachers

and children towards the Government's plans to change the way

schools are to be funded in England has spilled out into the streets of

East Cheshire. In this country our children deserve the chance of a

good well rounded education. Schools here are facing cuts that

would leave them amongst the lowest funded in the country. What do we

want? More than 1000 people turned up today, what of very angry and

passionate parents. When do we want it? Now! Basically

we are killing our country. Give every right to the education --

child the right to the education they deserve. Parents in this area

have the right to be angry. One of the big issues is some schools are

increasingly turning to parents for more and more contributions. There

is a lot of fundraising at the school I am at to pay for essential

things. We give money regularly for books, books are not a luxury, they

are essential thing is wearing out and the school can't afford to

replace them. We give ?10 a year direct debit. Trips to museums and

things like that, anything extra curricular needs paying for. I don't

want them to miss out but at the same time I don't know if I could

justify paying more for education. Haven't we got a responsibility to

put our children. We do that anyway, we pay taxes, we contribute, and I

volunteer at the school, parents do a lot. It is not right and it's not

fair. Our children are worth more than this.

Although schools are a scheme parents for voluntary contribution

isn't a new idea according to this woman who runs a school social media

funding group in London it's getting worse. Parents are asked to make

direct debit regular monthly contributions ranging from ?25 to

?50. Have there been any extreme cases you have heard? Yes, a couple

of examples of schools where they have a deficit in the budget and

reaching out to parents to ask them to make contributions to pay off

that deficit and the suggested minimum contribution was ?250.

Parents can't keep raising this sort of money. Up-and-down the country

frustrated parents say they are being asked to pay for things like

sports gear, new lockers and even selling equipment. Parents like

Vanessa who lives in Wokingham. We now have parents going into the

classrooms to replace teaching assistants. And, of course, you want

to contribute, it is your child's education but where does it stop?

And Sue Mortimer in Devon. They asked for a voluntary donation, a

minimum of ?5 a month to help the shortfall of funding they already

have at school. My worry is the schools in the rich areas will have

the money but this is one of the more deprived areas and there will

be fewer parents able to pay. The government says the aim of the new

funding formula is to address existing unfairness between schools

and funding is at record levels. The Government are saying we are

given new ?40 billion, isn't that enough? The Government keeps saying

they are spending more than ever before but they don't finish the

sentence which is that the people numbers are higher than they have

ever been so the relevant fact is spent per pupil and that is going

down. There is no denying the strength of

feeling here today and with online petitions and social media gathering

momentum it looks like the sort of things are going to happen a lot

more. Parents have a voice and they intend to use it.

Say no to budget cuts! Thank you. Before today's dramatic

events at Westminster Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clashed in Prime

Minister's Questions over the proposed changes to the funding for

schools in England with the consultation period now closed. We

will have to wait and see how the situation unfolds.

If you have any other examples of how you have been asked to

contribute to your child's School let us know at the usual address.

Look who has joined us on the sofa, please welcome James Blunt and Joe

Lycett. APPLAUSE

Welcome. Thank you. One was in the army and one is dressed in

camouflage. Yes! Did you coordinate? No, I don't think I would have done

well in the Army. Would you teach me how to be in the Armed Forces? I'm

sorry but not everyone can be in the Army. It was my dream! You are a

much bigger man than me so you probably could be. I could wrestle

you to the ground, yes. That sounds fun! Listen, Joe. Too soon!? We have

a bit of a bone to pick with you. Make sure that is clipped on. Do you

learn that in the Armed Forces? Thank you so much. This is quite a

moment I feel we are interrupting. Now, for some time, Joe, I have been

used as a source of comedy for some people, for you in particular. This

is all about some fake news then. I've been trying to sell stories

about you to newspapers about things that you haven't done. Yes, this was

a story that I think you sold to a certain tabloid newspaper. Tried!

Tried, let's take a look. When I spotted Matt Baker from the BBC One

show on his phone in the street he seemed angry about something and at

one point he was so angry that to my amazement he tried to kick a pigeon.

LAUGHTER I'm flattered to be a source of your

comedy but where does this come from? And whiny? I've been looking

forward to this. Basically, I thought the image of you kicking it

pigeon would be really funny because you are so lovely that you would

obviously never do that and come across so well on screen and as a

human I thought it would be funny the image of you kicking a pigeon. I

tried to sell it to the Sun newspaper and they said, can we see

a picture of it? I said here is a cropped version and sent them a

picture of a pigeon. LAUGHTER

Which they didn't buy. They didn't buy that and then they sent a

picture of you and asked if I had a picture of you kicking a pigeon and

they offered ?1000. So if you fall on hard times. I will give you a

ring. Just give The Sun a ring and you will be fine. Brilliant, I love

that. How about this for a scary animal story, a snake got left

behind by a passenger on an Alaskan plane and it got loose in the cabin,

and the flight attendant had to catch it. I know! I can see Joe's

face. It wasn't Ben Innes but it caused panic. You'd be worried

regardless. You don't want that on your flight. Sitting on an easy

chair and there is a lie and there! -- it wasn't venomous. There are no

pigeons in this but there are chickens.

A worrying moment. This recent archive shows an engine failure just

after take-off from Manchester Airport. Across the world it's

estimated that 100,000 aircraft take-off and land each day and they

share the air not only with each other but with hundreds of billions

of birds, and sometimes the two collide. Every year 1500 bird

strikes are recorded in the UK alone. Most planes hit by birds land

safely but sometimes it's more serious. And so before a plane is

built its materials are put through rigorous testing. The rather

absurdly named chicken guns have been features of aircraft testing

since the 1950s. They used to fire recently deceased chickens at speeds

of up to 400 miles an hour into aircraft engines, bodies and

windscreens to replicate a bird strike. This remarkable footage from

2012 shows the true extent of a bird strike. America still uses this

testing method but in the UK we use gelatin packs. The first stage of

the process is to put the materials you are going to make your aeroplane

out of two the test. Doctor Steven Reid and Simon Bates test materials

in the engineering department at Bristol University. They use much

smaller impacts than chicken guns to test materials before they get to

the chicken dung stage. Service machine here is the impact tower we

have an impact head with the material set up underneath. This

would look at how one of these materials would behave under an

impact event, like a bird strike. The weight of impact is equivalent

to that of a bird strike. Yes, look, it has punched a neat hole. In this

case we have ruptured straight through all of the fibres in the

risen and blown out on the back surface. On an aircraft we would

want to have some further impact protection, for example an aluminium

or titanium coating to absorb and dissipate the energy from an event

like this. It is a big old dense but it didn't go through. Yes, so unlike

the carbon fibre we don't have a catastrophic failure of the

material. You can see how it has brought in material from around the

site and we have a lot of what we call plastic de formation. But the

materials are not the only thing is put through their paces. Today,

pilots are trained on high-tech simulators to train them for the

worst. But what happens when a bird strike takes out an engine? With The

Help of a flight simulator I'm going to find out for myself. Gentleman.

Hello. Hello, Martin. Right, are ready to take off? We are ready.

Let's do it. Something happened. Rotate.

Positive climb. Engine fire. What's happening? What happened is

we had an indication of an engine fire perhaps as the result of a bird

strike. But we are still flying perfectly safely? Perfectly safely,

we have three other engines and as you can see the plane is under

control flying away. Most passengers would be blissfully

unaware of the bird strike as the pilots shot down the damaged engine.

And now what would happen? We would decide what the best course of

action would be, to go back to Heathrow in this case. As a

precaution pilots will land the plane at the nearest available

airport. But what if that's not an option? In 2009 both engines on

flight 1549 were taken out of. At this moment captain Sullenberger

performed an incredible emergency landing on the Hudson River saving

all passengers and crew. If you are taking to the skies soon, pause to

think although testing that goes into keeping us safe, all of which

mean that if you are on a collision course for a bird, it's the bird

that's going to come off worse. James, you got your pilot license at

16. Have you ever had any hairy encounters with some feathered

friends? No, I haven't. The planes I've been flying our smaller. Single

engines, yes? We have a brilliant photo of the present that you got

your dad but it came in kit form. It came in 2000 pieces and I gave it to

my dad and my dad made it in about 18 months, my mum was happy because

it kept him out of the house. Why does it have Yelp on the side? You

can choose your own numberplates. We fly around and we are like plane

spotters flying around at home. That maiden voyage must have been... That

was the maiden voyage. My dad is like Biggles. You have a new album

out on Friday called the afternoon love and you announced it in an

unusual manner -- The Afterlove. Be afraid, be very afraid. Did it get a

big response? Very bit, I was quite frightened. What is the vibe of this

particular album? It is more diverse than the stuff I've done before. I

know I am known as a man with a guitar singing miserable songs so

there is a little less misery. Misery sells so I like that but

there is some upbeat stuff and it's a bit more diverse. Was that a

conscious decision? Yes, if it did the same stuff I would kill myself.

It is a bit of a change and I think it will surprise people, there are

some songs on there that if you like my old stuff you will love it and if

you have not liked James Blunt's music I'm confident you will dig a

couple of songs on there. Do you think because you are now a family

man it is a different chapter in your life? I don't think so, I've

done four albums and for the faith I thought I've got a lot of experience

and worked with some amazing people on this album, I've worked with a

guy you might have heard of called Ed Sheeran. Who? I know, he is

little-known. Is it true you taught him to ski in return for writing

lessons? I taught him how to ski and he taught me how to write songs. I

think I got the better deal. It is a song called Make Me Better At and it

is a sweet song and I've written with the lead singer of The Wet

Republic. We wrote in his hotel room in the Carinthia and while we were

writing the song at 9:30pm somebody came and banged on the door and told

us to shut up which he was surprised about but I'm used to it. He banged

on the door, it is him and the guy that wrote that song in 2005. They

were embarrassed. I'm pretty cool with it. And then we recorded it in

his dressing room at the Roundhouse. I've been all over the place. I've

had a dream team of people to work with and it is a cool album as a

result. Talking of people in your life as well, Carrie Fisher was a

great friend of yours, wasn't she? Yes, absolutely. When I first got a

record deal she put me up in her house in Los Angeles and I've lived

there ever since when I've been in Los Angeles, I recorded Goodbye My

Lover and it is a Tragedy she has died. I am saddest that my little

son won't get to know his godmother but I have to say she was back at

the top of her game in Star Wars so she went out with a bang. I'm proud

of her. Happy memories. That song must mean so much knowing that you

recorded it at her house and the lyrics and everything. I have so

many ridiculous memories, Debbie Reynolds from singing in the rain

lived on the property and she used to shout about me, hey, Charlie, you

I'd say, I'm not Charlie. She'd say, do you want a drink anyway? Amazing

place to live. Absolutely wonderful. You will be performing later on and

we are very much looking forward to that. Joe Root, Red Nose Day, 48

hours away? Yes, Friday, it's come so quick. Incredible. Here's another

good reason to donate. Miranda Hart has met some young people whose

donation meant they stop the cycle of self harm. I think we're getting

so much better at talking about issues around emotional well-being

and thank goodness, because one in four of us will experience a mental

health issue. Five years ago Cas found herself in

a position where she needed help and simply didn't know what to do. I

think I started self harming when I was 11 or 12. The first difficulty

at school was being bullied. The most I did in one day with seven or

eight times. For me, self harming was like a release for any emotions

you have. I felt so depressed and so numb to everything, I didn't want to

get out of bed, I didn't really want to do anything. I got the point

where I was really suicidal, where I was like... I need help now and if I

don't do it now, I don't know what's to happen. Often self harm is of

response to something else going on, it's like a release. The trouble is,

the more you do it, the more addictive it becomes. About a

quarter of all young people have self harmed.

It kind of went downhill when my mum and dad split up. I had friendship

issues, I didn't really have anyone to talk to about anything. I think I

was 12 or 13 when I started self harming, which became progressively

worse throughout the years. The more you do it, the more you become

resistant to it, so you have to do it more to get the feeling you had

when you first started doing it. If I didn't reach out for help I would

be... It's really important for these

young people to have a place where they can come and feel supported and

feel part of a community and feel accepted. That's something the wish

centre offers. It's one of the only face-to-face providers of self harm

support in the UK. What we've seen if it is peer support that makes a

difference for young people going through self harm. There are not

many places that are specifically targeting it. It's a support

network. Support for self harm because that is quite rare. When you

come here, everyone understands what you're going through and if you need

to talk to somebody desperately, you can just text one of the people here

and sell reply. -- they will reply. It's nice. You don't have scars on

your... You have your tattooed. As much as I said I wanted a tattooed

to cover them, I kind of don't. It means a lot because I've been there,

I've been through it and I'd come out the other side. You should never

be in Paris that, it's OK to have scars, everyone has their individual

battles whether they are physical or mental. When I look into the future

I see a lot clearer how my life could play out. I've got plans. I'm

going to college. I'm a lot more hopeful about the future.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that this is a life-saving and

incredible life improving service that so many people. Do you think

without the Wish Centre things would be different? I doubt notified be

here without it, it changed my perspective on everything. At the

moment I've begun to help run the group. It's really strange going

back and... I was that exactly where they were sat five years ago. You're

amazing. LAUGHTER You are, you're amazing. You've been

through a lot and you're coming out the other side. Now you're paying

back. How much it helps me, I hoped it

could help someone else. No young people should have to go through

such deep anxiety and depression on their own that they get to this

stage of self harming. Your donations help support projects like

these. If you feel passionate about me, please, please donate tonight.

Thank you so much. There you are, your donations really

make a difference. A big thank you to Cass and Jo. If you've been

affected by any of those issues, go to our website where you can get

links to help and advice. This is one of the reasons Comic Relief

needs your help. At least 40% of your donations will be spent right

here in the UK and the rest go to projects in the poorest communities

in Africa. Remember wherever you live in the UK, you're likely to be

within just 20 miles of a Comic Relief funded project. James and

Joe, would you do the honours and give the numbers.

To donate ?5... To donate ?10... Those will cost you the donation and

a standard message charge on all of your donation will go to Comic

Relief stops are you must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer's

permission. The terms and conditions or more information or to donate

however much want online go to the website. Joe, you are involved in

hosting. We will be meeting a baby very shortly. You have been

preparing since you were a baby for this? Not quite baby, but yeah... At

school I always watched it as a kid. It's kind of mad I'm doing it, there

must be a clerical error, I should be doing! But yes, at school, at 1.I

used to spray red paint on my head and have red hair for it. I should

have done it on my nose but I thought the hair was better. The

deputy head that I had to wash it out. I went to the toilet and this

sort of turned to a bright ginger, which is a lovely colour. Nothing

wrong with that. But it went down my neck so I had a ginger neck. I bet

you are a nightmare at school. I talked a lot but it was generally

quite a good child. Why do you say that? I just thought in general.

LAUGHTER I'm not going that! Talking at

school, let's look at this. I personally would hate to go to

school with Mahal you have to -- imagine if they say that what have

you brought you? They start with Sal AMG says, I have brought in this

patio mache cat. They say OK, anyone else, Malala, did you bring

anything? Yes, this Nobel Peace Prize. LAUGHTER

On Friday, what will you be doing? It sounds like I've made this up

just for now. I am running a Pizza Express and the head chef is Mickey

Flanagan and the chef is foul from date of because people say I look

like her even though she's a 66-year-old woman. What is the plan?

I don't know. They want it more anarchic this year and I love it

when it's sort of anarchic at live gigs. There will be customers in

there and we will be serving pizza. Actual pizza? Mickey Flanagan is

making them so I hope they eat before they get there. You have a

pizza pedigree, you have a restaurant? Yes, a restaurant at the

top of a mountain which I share with Lawrence Dallaglio and Kyle Fogerty.

We are the three Amigos who have a restaurant at the top of a mountain.

Healthy food, what is the name? What is on the James Blunt pizza? It is

small but spicy! LAUGHTER Joe, from small but spicy, I hope

you are serving some of them, what are you doing today as part of Comic

Relief? I am covered in mud and I have got

on your sofa, and sorry. I've been to a project in Dudley, I'm from the

Midlands but I don't like it because I'm better! I was in Dudley today,

an amazing project called the Sycamore adventure Centre. Comic

Relief have funded them in part. It was wonderful. They have these

go-karts, which is why I'm covered... There is a picture of me

looking ludicrous on a go-kart. It was brilliant. I've been to Malawi a

few days ago do there. When you see it, you realise how amazing the work

they are doing with every pound is. Great to see what they're up to.

This great anticipation about Friday night. It's coming from the O2 and

comedians have said the whole idea is to just go with the flow and see

what happens. What an environment for you. As an up-and-coming

comedian. Yes, it's so exciting. I want to get it right for the

charity. If it was just for fun, there's less pressure, but the

actual fact that it matters so much, you want to get it right. I spoke to

Mickey today and he's well up for going to fall bonkers so we're going

to do some mad things. What a wonderful line-up. Originally Comic

Relief was all about comics and it's kind of comeback. Go. Does it feel

like element of pressure because of that, going back to the glory days?

Yes, totally. It should be funny and it should India people to donate.

There amazing people from my generation and amazing people

from... The first people doing it. We've heard a rumour about some sort

of take on La La Land. The other day I was on roller -- roller-skates. I

was carried around by young attractive men and I thought, I

could get used to it. They were doing a parody of the La La Land

opening and I think it will be really funny. I haven't seen the

final edit but I nearly fall over so that's funny enough! Apart from

wheeling around, do you think? I do a little... A little number, you are

teasing us! Shall we find out what that little baby is doing here in

the studio? The theme this year is make your last count. You've been

sending your laughing videos into us all week. We have thoroughly enjoyed

this! Laughter really is the best

medicine, isn't it? We have invited three more laughing viewers in to

introduce their own laughter. Let me introduce you all. How you doing? Hi

cat, as mum, tellers little bit about Oscar. I think we have a

little bit of a giggle, almost. Are we going to get a giggle? He is

eight months. He's very easily amused. Good. He find quite a few

things funny and I think you have a clip of him laughing in the bath. A

beautiful boy, guess we have, laughing in the bath. Here we go.

That hearty laugh came off the back of uh-oh. His word of the week is

sockies, do you want to give it a go? Sockies. LAUGHTER

I think I terrified him! Oscar, you play with that red nose, shove it in

your mouth, put it on your nose, whatever. Thank you. Have a nice

little cuddle. Chris, where you from? Sway in the new Forest. Can

you introduce your clip please. Is very wet weekend in the two K with

my mate Steve. APPLAUSE

We are going to have to leave the gag there because they cannot say

this on family telly, can we? Not really. Thank you Chris. Colin,

where you from? I'm an apprentice carpenter from Southend. Very good,

introduce your clip for us. This is me on a tea break being entertained

by the lads. LAUGHTER

Oh dear! APPLAUSE Thank you all very much indeed. More

laughs through the course of the rest of the week. Women have been

serving in the Fire Service the decades but it's only recently

they've been given the top job. Lucy has been to meet a pioneering

commissioner hoping to inspire a new generation of firefighters.

At the start of this year Danny became the first woman in the London

Fire Brigade's 151 year history to be appointed Fire Commissioner. One

of my aims is to show people you can join as a firefighter, like I did,

and come up through the ranks and you can run this brilliant

organisation, and actually a woman can do as well as a man. As one of

the highest ranked female officers in the country, Dani is in charge of

102 fire stations and nearly 4700 uniformed firefighters. So what do

people make of her appointment? Are you aware that Chief Commissioner

for the whole of London Fire Service is a woman Marcelo Melo. No. What

you think? Great. Think they can do the job as good as a man, it's a

quality now. The world is changing, people should change with it. Dani

may have public support now but her rise to the top hasn't been easy.

I'm here to meet her at Lewisham Fire Station, where she became the

first woman ever make station officer.

this is about the teamwork aspects of everyone here knows this bit of a

job and understand what everyone else is doing and can do all of it.

When she began her career 30 years ago attitudes in the service were

very different. It may be quite sad because I went to the first station

and three of the guys put in to transfer before I got there because

they didn't want to work with a woman and I was surprised people

didn't accept someone is just being a firefighter because I had done the

same training. There were other more practical challenges, Danny shows me

the station's sleeping quarters. When I joined it was one big

dormitory. Mine wasn't like this with lockers, it was a huge room

with pull-down bed is. You were in there with the guys? There was ten

guys in the dormitory and me. Throughout the 80s only 60 women

joined the brigade, today there are 324. Now we've got about 7% of the

workforce who are women. The female facilities are also

improving. So, this is the women's dormitory so we obviously now have

segregated sleeping areas. Every time we build a new fire station now

we plan to have it really segregated so they can sleep in separate areas.

This is nowhere near the height of your ambition. This is nowhere near

but we want there to be more women firefighters so we need to make sure

the uniform is right, the accommodation is right and the

workplace is right so that very important. She has big plans for the

future of the brigade and it seems those working beneath her are in

full support. What is it like having a female boss? It is no different to

having a male boss but it's good for the progression of the brigade. If

you think how high she has got and the experience she has got to get

where she is today and she is so approachable. She is warm, friendly

and caring. She's an inspiration, someone to look up to. But sadly

even today Dany says not everyone has been quite so supportive. On my

promotion there was the inevitable stuff like you were always going to

get the job because you were the woman on the panel and its political

correctness gone mad and then there are a lot of people saying, are you

really capable? Lots of it is retired firefighters from years gone

by because it was very different in their day. It's not just about

fighting fires, the role has changed from firefighters from the community

engagement to the rescue side. That's the brilliant thing about the

role of a firefighter, you never know when, what your day will hold.

What is your goal for women in the Fire Service, 50-50 split? That

would be brilliant because that is what the population of London looks

like and I will be happy when we are truly a workforce where anyone can

join and there are no barriers and people can come to work and be

themselves and be the very best they can be for protecting London. That's

why today Dany is meeting with some young cadets to help challenge

stereotypes and inspire future firefighters. What advice would you

give to a young female who wants to join the fire brigade? The first

step is joining your local cadet scheme and we are hoping to get far

more cadet scheme is running across London. Do you believe that fire

cadets has encouraged more girls to join the Fire Service? I hope so and

looking at you around here I want that to be the case and I try and

get a lot of cadet things because I want to say all of the cadets,

especially to some of the girls, I think it is the best job in the

world and it has given me some of the most fantastic opportunities. If

you can go to work and go home that day knowing you have saved someone's

life there is no better feeling, you cannot buy that feeling.

What a great spokesperson. Absolutely. Firefighters Julie,

Nikki and Jena have joined us, thank you for coming in. Julie, this was a

second career for you, wasn't it? I joined the Fire Service to work for

the media team 15 years ago and seeing operational female

firefighters really inspired me and I used to look at them and say I

could do that and I am a firefighter now, White watch. How would you

describe being on the front line when you are in the heat of it? My

watch? Yes. Really supportive, it sounds cliched but we are a family

and we support each other and I love it. Nicky, you've got two jobs,

haven't you? Yes, my day job is a hairdresser and when I'm not in the

salon I'm on call in the community in Lindenhurst. It is a contrast of

the two but I absolutely love both, luckily. A real mix, and what did

your family think of that mix? I think my mum was worried to start

off with but I said to her I wouldn't be put in a situation where

they thought it was going to be risky. I know that's part of the

job, but not to worry. They have been so supportive and so proud.

Jena, Dany such an inspiration and hearing her talk and all of the

generations that will be inspired by her. She has always been an

inspiration for me when I joined 15 years ago, I joined the women in the

Fire Service network and she has was been at the end of the phone when

you have needed a bit of advice, a bit of mental ring, she has always

been there. I am sure they will be lots of budding firefighters

watching that. -- mentoring. I'm sure you will be excited about this,

James will be performing live tonight, you'd better get warmed up

because it's four minutes away. Carrie Grant has met up with another

hit maker to discover how she made her dreams come true. 25 years ago

three ambitious young people right at the very start of their careers

came together at just the right time. Daring to dream they could

make it big in the music industry they wrote and recorded a song about

just that. The end result became an anthem for the 90s.

# Dreams can come true # The singer Gabrielle grew up in

south London with a passion for music but little self-confidence

having been bullied at school because of a problem with one eye.

When I was younger it wouldn't open because the eye muscle was kind of

dead so it would wink on its own and I'd go to school and I would have

girls being really which she saying, why are you winking at me? Strangers

would come up to you and ask what is wrong with you I? But encouraged by

an endless teacher Gabrielle wrote about her experiences. It's because

of her I enjoyed writing poems I later turned into songs. Although I

didn't have the confidence I have and continue to have that love of

music and performing. Working in a club singing covers Gabrielle

decided to try and record one of her own songs. Dany came to my little

studio -- Gabrielle. We recorded a demo. Back then music producer Tim

Lawes was working out of a shed making dance records. As soon as she

started singing I just thought wow. Tim liked my voice and somehow ended

up getting a call-back that he wanted to work with me. So do you

want to hear the original demo we made?

I sound really young. I had various backing tracks and this particular

one stood out to me as may be the one she could collaborate with me

on. I went home and went into the book I had filled with lyrics. She

came back with what I thought was a poem at that stage and we started

playing with a few melodic ideas, she sang it, and it was born really.

It was about just wanting your dreams and desires to come true. It

was lovely to hear that back. In the early 90s he was a young talent

scout looking for the next big thing and then he heard the demo of

Dreams. I'm absolutely gobsmacked, it was really enchanting, a really

distinctive voice and a perfect song and I just kept playing it over and

over again. I met up with her, I got her number, it seemed simple, I

found her up and we agreed we would work together. It was such an

amazing thing to go through because people believed in you even though

you didn't believe in yourself. He signed

he signed Gabrielle and Dreams was released. The stroke of genius was

Gabrielle's eye patch. I put it on and felt like this different person,

I felt like I could go into character. That work because

everyone always talked about the song with the girl with the eye

patch. The success of Dreams was the turning point of all of their

careers and it was the highest chart debut by a female artist and

Gabrielle went on to become a multi-award-winning

singer-songwriter. Gabrielle wasn't writing about things in the

abstract, she was writing about her and what makes pop music work. He is

now President of Columbia records and Tim is a successful record

producer who's worked with artists like Lighthouse Family. Today that

he and Gabrielle outperforming the track the first time writing it.

Dreams really set up my career for me and I will be forever thankful.

What I love is how much of a narrative to both Gabrielle's life

and to my life the song has. It did what it said on the tin.

# Dreams can come true # You know you've got to have hope #

Having so many insecurities, having the idea I was considered a nobody,

to have that success, it was the most amazing thing, just, you know,

that feeling, vindication. # Dreams can come true #

You were doing a bit of routine. Joel, thank you, nice to see you.

Good luck with Comic Relief. Friday night, 7pm, BBC One. We will be here

tomorrow talking to Arlene Phillips and Maureen Lipman. Now to sing is

out with Bartender from his new album out on Friday, its James

Blunt. APPLAUSE

# And I wonder what he said because she's crying

# When they're heading from the whiskey and the wine

# I know that I have said things I regret when I'm sober

# Cause we always hurt the ones we love the most

# I messed up and I know it if I hurt you girl I'm sorry

# But it's good to see the girl I used to know

# Maybe we can stick to holding hands

# If we keep on drinking we're gon' fall back in love

# We must not be thinking 'cause we can't get enough

# We can talk about a future, we don't wanna reminisce

# Because we both know it was me who got it wrong

# Baby listen now, they're playing our song

# Maybe we can stick to holding hands

# If we keep on drinking we're gon' fall back in love

# We must not be thinking 'cause we can't get enough

# And it's closing time, back to yours or mine?

# After all this time, you still blow my mind

# If we keep on drinking we're gon' fall back in love

# We must not be thinking 'cause we can't get enough

Hello, I'm Sarah Campbell with your 90 second update.