0:00:02 > 0:00:07Pop music. Glitz, glamour, stars.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11A global industry worth an estimated 30 billion.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15But none of it would exist without this.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16# Baby love, my baby love... #
0:00:16 > 0:00:17The song.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21It all starts with the song. No matter if you're talking about
0:00:21 > 0:00:22rock'n'roll or pop music.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25If the song doesn't have it,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28all the other stuff is just child's play.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32You see the occasional little jewel or hear the occasional jewel
0:00:32 > 0:00:35in the pop cannon and you think "OK, that's why I like pop music."
0:00:35 > 0:00:38# It's not about the money, money, money... #
0:00:38 > 0:00:40So what makes a great pop song?
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Pop music has to be emotional.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Whether it makes you angry, makes you cry, makes you laugh,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47makes you want to go and tell somebody you love them.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49It's got to be the record you play before you go out.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It's gotta make you feel good.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54There are certain songs that, you know what? Everyone loves this song.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Even if you say you don't, you really do.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58You usually get a song,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01a real song, from just something that happens in your head.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05In this series, we're going to talk to some of the most successful
0:01:05 > 0:01:09songwriters over the decades to find out how pop songs are written.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13And for the first time we're going inside the process,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16as we follow professional song writer Guy Chambers
0:01:16 > 0:01:18write three brand new songs.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Most singles selling over a million in Britain are written with
0:01:22 > 0:01:26the help of professional song writers like Guy.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30He's worked with everyone from Tina Turner to Kylie Minogue,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33but he's best known for his work with Robbie Williams.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Together, they've sold over 40 million albums.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39In this series,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43guy is going to collaborate on three very different types of song.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46An anthem with chart busting band the Noisettes.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51A breakthrough single with pop maestro Mark Ronson
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and is going to start with the most enduring genre of all,
0:01:55 > 0:02:00the ballad, with singer song writer, Rufus Wainwright.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02We're going to follow the song writing process
0:02:02 > 0:02:07as it unfolds from pen and paper to the very first performance.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08And along the way,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11we're going to find out some of the tricks of the trade.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27# There I was in uniform... #
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Canadian singer song writer Rufus Wainwright arrives in London
0:02:31 > 0:02:35to perform a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39# I was just a girl then... #
0:02:39 > 0:02:42He's also here to collaborate with Guy Chambers
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and write a brand new ballad.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46I'm a little bit nervous.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49First day of working with anybody new is always a bit nerve racking.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Er, I mean I've collaborated before in the past.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Er, it's never su-super easy.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Rufus has a massive following.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01His albums are a critical triumph. He's even written his own opera.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Elton John has called him one of the greatest living song writers.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09This summer he'll be the first ever contemporary artist to take
0:03:09 > 0:03:12up residency at the Royal Opera House.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16But can Rufus find success in the pop market?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19One of my jobs is to try and make whoever walks through the door
0:03:19 > 0:03:24here walk away with something that's accessible to a lot of people.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30I can do opera. Pop is, is more my, er, you know soft point.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Guy and Rufus have just two days together to write their new song.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40That's sort of what I can do with a piano.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- I mean I can write stuff like that. - Yeah.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46But then I can't like play happy birthday. It's really depressing.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53But what does it take to write a mainstream commercial ballad?
0:03:53 > 0:03:57# It's been seven hours and 15 days... #
0:03:57 > 0:03:59And what is a ballad anyway?
0:03:59 > 0:04:03# Since you took your love away... #
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Torture, pain and more pain.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10# The first cut is the deepest
0:04:10 > 0:04:12# Baby, I know... #
0:04:12 > 0:04:13The ballad is the biggest
0:04:13 > 0:04:18and most successful genre in pop with an impressive back catalogue.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23# Seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind... #
0:04:23 > 0:04:28This one, Candle In The Wind, is the best-selling single of all time.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30# ..when the rain set in... #
0:04:30 > 0:04:31# Yesterday...
0:04:31 > 0:04:32And this one, Yesterday,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36written by Paul McCartney, is the most covered song of all time.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38# ..such an easy game to play... #
0:04:38 > 0:04:40# Love is all around me... #
0:04:40 > 0:04:43These are all the songs that we listen to at weddings and funerals.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The songs that tell us how we really feel.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49# Everybody hurts... #
0:04:49 > 0:04:52This ballad by REM, according to surveys,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55is the pop song that most makes men cry.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57# Everybody cries... #
0:04:57 > 0:04:59# I'm not in love... #
0:04:59 > 0:05:01And what's the biggest theme of all?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Finding love and losing it
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and everything in between and feeling horrible.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08You know, wanting to jump off a cliff.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10# I really need you tonight... #
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Talk to any song writer and they'll all say the same thing.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15# The winner takes it all... #
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The secret to a ballad is simple.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20# The loser's standing small... #
0:05:20 > 0:05:21Feel the pain.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Yeah, there's an art to feeling sorry for yourself.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28There really is, you know,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and there's an art to kind of melancholy.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36# Never mind I'll find someone like you... #
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I think everyone has torment in their lives.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42We all have periods when there's drama.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45# I will try... #
0:05:45 > 0:05:51I think it's something to sooth the tormented soul, you know,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53of the listener.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01So how are Guy and Rufus going to tackle their ballad?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04They begin at Guy's recording studio in North London.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Well, I actually thought there's ballads in different categories
0:06:08 > 0:06:09I was thinking this morning.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13There's soul ballads like, # When a man loves a woman... #
0:06:13 > 0:06:18# When a man loves a woman... #
0:06:18 > 0:06:23# Can't keep his mind on nothing else
0:06:23 > 0:06:27# He'll change the world for the good thing he's found. #
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- And then you have. - There's folk ballads.- Folk ballads.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- Like the first time I ever saw your face.- Yeah.- That's by Ewan MacColl.
0:06:34 > 0:06:41# The first time ever I saw your face... #
0:06:41 > 0:06:43And it's very, you know, like,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45# The first time ever I say your face... #
0:06:45 > 0:06:47You know this kind of ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53- Yeah.- You know, very earnest. That's a ballad. Romantic.- Yeah.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- It later became a soul ballad. - Yeah.- With Roberta Flack.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01# The first time
0:07:01 > 0:07:05# Ever I kissed your mouth
0:07:09 > 0:07:16# I felt the earth move in my hand... #
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- Then you have your power ballads. - Yeah.- The power of love.- Yeah.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24# Cos I'm your lady... #
0:07:24 > 0:07:26But, I mean like, Celine Dion is sort of
0:07:26 > 0:07:28the last of the, you know, unabashedly.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- Yes.- Er,- Whitney Houston. - Yeah. Horrifying.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38I mean I think there has to be some kind of serious, er,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41undertone to a ballad personally, you know.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Some kind of life or death situation, you know this is
0:07:44 > 0:07:48the song you're going to hear before I jump out the window.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Mm.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52To get the session going Rufus plays some ideas
0:07:52 > 0:07:54he's recorded on his phone.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I mean they're all on the Blackberry here.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59INAUDIBLE
0:07:59 > 0:08:01This is my rap one.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05RAPS: 'A piece of the action. Doo, doo, doo, doo, everybody.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:09That's not unusual though people playing really rough stuff like that.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11It's quite hard for me to, er,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I was just thinking we can't use any of that.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18- Were you actually imagining that you'd rap?- Er.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23Well, that was a, that was an idea of doing like a totally Rufus rap.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28The only trouble with it is it's, it's not in this ballad thing.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I knew what he meant about it being a good idea.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Er, I think it would be dangerous for him to, to rap though.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36So, obviously you saw I didn't encourage that.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40With the rap idea politely binned,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Guy tries to steer Rufus down a more radio friendly route.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Halo is an example of a ballad that you know, that great Beyonce song?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- Right.- Halo...
0:08:50 > 0:08:53that is a ballad but it's, it's a soul ballad and it's got
0:08:53 > 0:08:55so much rhythm in it that it's got, that it feels up.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- Yeah.- Even though it's actually slow.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00# Remember those wall I built?
0:09:00 > 0:09:01# Well, baby, they're... #
0:09:01 > 0:09:03No, I would want to have rhythm.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04- Yeah.- Under the ballad.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Yeah, so, so the vocal might be... Will have like a double time feel
0:09:08 > 0:09:11that will move it on and it won't fell like a dirge, basically.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16We don't want to go into dirge mode cos getting dirges on the radio
0:09:16 > 0:09:17- is very, very difficult.- Yeah.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19# I sit and wait... #
0:09:19 > 0:09:22If there's one thing Guy really does know about,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25it's how to write a radio friendly ballad.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27# ..contemplate my fate... #
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Angels, his mega hit with Robbie Williams in 1997,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32sold over 2 million copies.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It's still one of the most popular Karaoke
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and funeral songs in Britain.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41It's a hymn ballad, it's very you know, let us pray.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44You know, when you hear the chords at the beginning.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46PLAYS ANGELS OPENING CHORDS
0:09:47 > 0:09:52It's very, you know, Psalm 106.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54# ..that salvation... #
0:09:54 > 0:09:58In a sort of choir world that I grew up with, hymns tend to be very.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01PLAYS CHORDS
0:10:04 > 0:10:09They're very sort of like that, er, and the Angels chords...
0:10:09 > 0:10:13PLAYS ANGELS CHORDS
0:10:16 > 0:10:19They're very, very, very conventional.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21It's very, um...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23They're not that surprising. You know, I didn't go.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26PLAYS CHORDS
0:10:27 > 0:10:31I didn't do something like that. Didn't wander off anywhere.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Didn't go there.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36You know, it's, it's all very, er, conventional and,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38er, pleasingly predictable.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Reassuring chords, I would say.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46# And through it all she offers me protection
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Angels was the song that really established Robbie as a solo artist,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52but when Guy and Robbie wrote it,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55they had no idea it would be so successful.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57We knew it was good track,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01but we didn't ever have an idea, at that early stage, of how huge
0:11:01 > 0:11:04it would be because he hadn't been established at that point.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06It was, I think, the second day we were working together
0:11:06 > 0:11:11and he was really out of shape and I didn't have any kind of track record
0:11:11 > 0:11:13so he probably didn't think the relationship
0:11:13 > 0:11:17was that powerful at that point.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23In the studio, Guy and Rufus haven't written a word yet.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26But Guy had heard on the radio that morning that North Korea had
0:11:26 > 0:11:30just attacked South Korea and it's given him an idea for a title.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I had a title this morning for you which was World War Three
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and it can also be about war within families or war within...
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- On a one to one basis with a partner. - Right, right.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41I thought that was interesting.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I like World War Three, but I don't think, I mean just
0:11:44 > 0:11:47the very mention of World War Three is quite a dramatic.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50- You can kind of back off from there. - Yeah. Yeah, no absolutely.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53You don't have to use that in the song. Anyway, let me play you...
0:11:53 > 0:11:55- OK, great. - Why don't you come next door?
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Guy's got three possible piano riffs he thinks might work.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- There's that.- Right, right. Cool.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13And I've got another riff which goes...
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Just with a bit different base notes.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Another things that's...
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- It's quite you, I thought, this. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Mm. Chorus.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40What was the one before that? The...
0:12:42 > 0:12:43That one?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Rufus latches on to the second riff.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54If he hadn't have liked any of those then
0:12:54 > 0:12:57we would have been fishing around in the dark for longer
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and that might have been quite frustrating.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Er, play that a second.
0:13:08 > 0:13:15Like... # World War Three
0:13:17 > 0:13:23# Between you and me... #
0:13:23 > 0:13:25And then, then he sang that first line
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and the melody was really beautiful.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31RUFUS SINGS MELODY
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Everybody wants a piece of the action, baby.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- Sorry I...- No, no, maybe or maybe do like a surge.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Oh, that's good.
0:13:50 > 0:13:57# Everybody wants a piece of the action
0:13:59 > 0:14:05# And everybody wants a piece of the action
0:14:08 > 0:14:10# Wha-a-a... #
0:14:10 > 0:14:11Yeah, that's nice.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17I like that underneath the sheets the land and the sea. That's good.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Right, there's a reason that you have this studio.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27# Those school girl days... #
0:14:27 > 0:14:31So, what are the tricks to writing a hit ballad?
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Around the corner from the studio,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Guy hooks up with an old friend, lyricist Don Black.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Don has been writing for nearly 50 years.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43He won an Oscar with John Barry for the song Born Free and he's
0:14:43 > 0:14:49had over 30 hits, including Diamonds Are For ever and To Sir With Love.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Well, I always think if you can recognise yourself in a song,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54that is the key.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- If someone says to me after a song they've heard of mine...- Yeah.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02- ..er, "I felt that." If someone says "My god, I felt that."- OK.
0:15:02 > 0:15:03Then you've cracked it.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08# Ben, the two of us need look no more... #
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Another of Don Black's hits is Ben.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16He wrote it for a movie about a boy with leukaemia, who had a pet rat.
0:15:16 > 0:15:17# ..looking for... #
0:15:17 > 0:15:20It was a commission to write a song about a rat
0:15:20 > 0:15:23but, of course, I didn't want to use words like cheese and traps.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I thought it's not going to have much of a future.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27So I wrote it about friendship.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30# And you, my friend, will see
0:15:30 > 0:15:34# You've got a friend in me. #
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Michael came over to us and I sang it to him
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and then he said, "Oh, I love it, I love it," and funnily enough,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42his favourite lyric of all time,
0:15:42 > 0:15:47cos he said this in his biography, is the middle eight.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50# I used to say... #
0:15:50 > 0:15:54"I used to say I am me, now it's us, now it's we."
0:15:54 > 0:15:58# Now it's us
0:15:58 > 0:16:01# now it's we. #
0:16:01 > 0:16:03He loved that because it was so simple.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I don't really have any theories.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- I mean, I've written complicated lyrics for musicals.- Yeah.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12But I think for popular songs, I think they have to be accessible.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I always say, if you can, in a perfect world, it would say,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18er, something fresh about the human condition.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- OK.- If that doesn't sound too lofty. - No, no.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23I always think, you know,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26anyone can write a song saying you don't love me any more.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- Mm.- It's very cliched,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32but if you say you've lost that loving feeling it's a bit better.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37# You've lost that lovin' feeling... #
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Back in the studio, Guy and Rufus are on a roll.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44They're sailing through the first verse and are now on to the bridge.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49The bridge, hold on a minute. What's that again?
0:16:49 > 0:16:52It's the bit before the chorus that leads you into the chorus
0:16:52 > 0:16:54so it gives you the lift.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Hopefully it lifts you so there's this sense of expectation so...
0:16:58 > 0:17:00"Right, oh, here comes the chorus,"
0:17:00 > 0:17:02and it kind of sign posts it massively.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04It's like opening the curtains of the show, you know.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06To me it's that, the reveal.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09# And everybody
0:17:09 > 0:17:12# Wants a piece of the action
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# And everybody
0:17:17 > 0:17:22# Wants a piece of the action... #
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- Shouldn't there be another verse in there and then...- No.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- Oh, really, that's not... OK. - Don't bore us, get to the chorus.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30- Remember that one?- Oh, really.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33# Don't bore us get to the chorus
0:17:35 > 0:17:40- That's actually a nice. - Opening line.- That's a good one.- OK.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Guy's throwaway line, "Don't bore us get to the chorus,"
0:17:43 > 0:17:46unexpectedly resonates with Rufus
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and triggers a surprising revelation.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50# Got to get to... #
0:17:50 > 0:17:53I mean it's a nice, it's actually a nice thought because it's like...
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Actually, cos you know, I mean I will, I will tell you...
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- Yeah.- ..that I'm, you know, I'm expecting a child.- Oh, wow!
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- Congratulations. Wow, that's amazing. - Yeah, in February.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- I'm seven months pregnant.- Yeah. You're looking great on it.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Not only is Rufus going to be a gay dad,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13but the mother of the child is Lorca Cohen,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Leonard Cohen's daughter.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19This sudden life change has not been easy for Rufus.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21We, we've been friends for many, many years
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and she's always wanted to have a kid and...
0:18:24 > 0:18:25Yeah.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29You know, er, basically let's just say we haven't had the time
0:18:29 > 0:18:34to really prepare, er, normally for what's about to happen.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37And, and there's a lot of stuff kind of coming up
0:18:37 > 0:18:41you know between these ego's and these new life forms,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and it's all been very, er, intense
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and great, but also, you know, hard to manoeuvre.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Luckily, granddad to be Leonard has had a chance to sit down
0:18:51 > 0:18:53with Rufus for a chat.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57He was very, you know, excited about what's happening
0:18:57 > 0:19:00and just sort of reminded me that, you know, this is all good and...
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Mm.- And that one of his big things was you know,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- don't focus on those old issues, it is about new stuff.- Mm.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10And in terms of this, it's like focus on the chorus. What is it?
0:19:10 > 0:19:11Don't bore us, get to the chorus.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Don't bore us, get to the chorus, you know what I mean?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16You know like, let's shed some of this.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18But we're not really fighting, it's just,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- it's just this sort of clash of cultures, you know.- Yeah.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- Or, or...- Well, if you can put some energy, if you can use that
0:19:25 > 0:19:30- as energy to help write the lyrics, that could be great.- Yeah.- Unless...
0:19:30 > 0:19:32'It's not often that you've just met someone
0:19:32 > 0:19:36'and they tell you something as, as private as that.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38'I was quite surprised.'
0:19:38 > 0:19:41That's the sort of thing Robbie would do, actually.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43He can... He's very confessional
0:19:43 > 0:19:48and likes to tell people something that's juicy.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51It's the sign of a really good song writer, actually.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55So here's the song writer's mantra. Write what you know.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59But how much of yourself are you supposed to reveal?
0:20:00 > 0:20:04# Do you really want to hurt me? #
0:20:04 > 0:20:06This song by Culture Club was number 1 in 12 countries
0:20:06 > 0:20:10around the world, but when Boy George first recorded it,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14he tried to block its release because it was just too personal.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17# Love is never asking why... #
0:20:17 > 0:20:20I had written this song about my boyfriend and I
0:20:20 > 0:20:23just thought, well, it's just, you know, it's just not a single.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27And Virgin heard it and were like "Oh, this is definitely the single,"
0:20:27 > 0:20:29and I was like, "No, no,"
0:20:29 > 0:20:31and I actually went in and screamed at them.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33I absolutely went in and went mental.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35"This can't come out as a record, the single.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38"It's going to destroy... We will never get anywhere.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40"It's going to end everything."
0:20:40 > 0:20:43I really didn't get it cos for me it was too personal.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46# Do you really want to make me cry? #
0:20:46 > 0:20:48I learnt a really valuable lesson with that song
0:20:48 > 0:20:52because I learnt that kind of being personal is really what it's about.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54You should always be personal in your music
0:20:54 > 0:20:56a always write about things that mean something.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00# Words are few I have spoken... #
0:21:00 > 0:21:03I like artists who are connected to what they write and sing
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and you can tell.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Even if it's a pop act. I mean Abba, you know I think they're great
0:21:09 > 0:21:10because, you know, it was personal.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I mean they were writing about their kind of little soap opera.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16# I apologise... #
0:21:16 > 0:21:21You know, the fact that it was kind of cheesy infectious pop
0:21:21 > 0:21:22was just, you know, part of that.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26But there was also a kind of real... You know what I mean?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28..underbelly to it and I think that's,
0:21:28 > 0:21:29that's what makes the difference.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33# The winner takes it all... #
0:21:33 > 0:21:37As a writer, everything's about emotion. What do I feel, you know?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39What do I want to say?
0:21:39 > 0:21:41The only time I've ever messed up as a song writer is
0:21:41 > 0:21:43when I've tried to sort of be like other people.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46There was a period in the 80's when I sort of...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48"Let's be Frankie Goes to Hollywood."
0:21:51 > 0:21:55Let's face it, getting personal never hurt a record's sales.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57If anything, it's the opposite.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01This song, written by Sting, after the breakup of his first marriage
0:22:01 > 0:22:04is one of the biggest ballads ever.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07# Every breath you take... #
0:22:07 > 0:22:10It's played on the radio all the time.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12It's probably being played right now.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16I got a certificate a few years ago for that song from an
0:22:16 > 0:22:21American radio and it had been played 10 million times, right.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23This was years, this is 10 years ago
0:22:23 > 0:22:26so god knows how many times it has been played, let's say 20.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Add up 20 million 4 minutes and you'd probably get
0:22:28 > 0:22:34something like, I don't know, 20 years of continuous airplay.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Actually Sting, your sums are way off.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42The real figure is nearer 150 years of continuous play.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Every time a song is played on the radio,
0:22:44 > 0:22:49it earns a royalty which is split between writer and publisher.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52On Radio 2 that could be up to £66 a go.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55If a track is played a lot, it could end up paying your pension
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and even your children's pension.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00The French call them gold songs.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04All that means is that they're, they'll worth a lot of money.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Basically.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09I think it's, it's my most successful song
0:23:09 > 0:23:13and probably better known than any of the others and yet,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15it's not in the least bit original.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20It, er, you know, it has a standard chord sequence
0:23:20 > 0:23:22which is probably nicked of, er, Stand By Me.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28# Every breath you take
0:23:29 > 0:23:32# Every move you make
0:23:33 > 0:23:38# Every bond you break every step you take
0:23:38 > 0:23:40# I'll be watching you
0:23:42 > 0:23:45# Every single day... #
0:23:45 > 0:23:47So it's not, it's not original
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and the lyrics you could get from a rhyming dictionary,
0:23:50 > 0:23:55you know make, take, fake, wake and yet it has something about it
0:23:55 > 0:24:01which people respond to in that it seems at first like a very romantic
0:24:01 > 0:24:05kind of seductive song which is what I initially intended it to be,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08but then when you listen to it, you realise there's a compulsion
0:24:08 > 0:24:13behind it to the point of obsession where it becomes quite sinister.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17# Every move you make And every vow you break... #
0:24:19 > 0:24:21All the time I get people writing letters saying,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24"Oh, it's our favourite song. It was played at our wedding."
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And I, you know, and I never contradict people
0:24:27 > 0:24:29about what the meaning of the song is.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33It think it's whatever it means to you, that's what the meaning is.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37But for me it has this double edge thing and, er, it's,
0:24:37 > 0:24:38I think it's pretty powerful.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41You know, still, still what people want to hear.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43It's all about stalking someone, isn't it?
0:24:43 > 0:24:47It's all about I'll be watching you. That's the key line, isn't it?
0:24:47 > 0:24:51# Every night you stay I'll be watching you. #
0:24:51 > 0:24:57When you have songs where the line repeats and one word is different,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59that you... The ear likes that because you're thinking
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"what's he going to rhyme it with, where's he going to go with it?"
0:25:02 > 0:25:05It leads you along when there's repetition like that.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08That's very, er, that's a good trick.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Not that he... Not that he was thinking that was a trick.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Sometimes I'll spend months and months on a song
0:25:14 > 0:25:16making it very technical musically,
0:25:16 > 0:25:21and technical lyrically, and, er, I don't get anywhere.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Sometimes the simplest songs are the best.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Being simple is not easy though.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31# Every move you make every step you take
0:25:31 > 0:25:33# I'll be watching you. #
0:25:37 > 0:25:40# Don't bore us...
0:25:40 > 0:25:43In the studio, after nailing the first verse,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Guy and Rufus have suddenly hit a stumbling block.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49They can't find a word that rhymes with battle.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Time for the rhyming dictionary.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55- These battles.- These battles.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00Are... My only rhyming battles is a bastard.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02- At all times.- Chattels.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06- Cattle, metal.- It's a bit like, it's like rhyming orange.- Yeah.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- No orange is famously hard. - Battle's also quite tough.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- Maddle, saddle, saddle. Keep on the saddle.- Get back on the saddle.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Don't battle, get back on the saddle.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Don't battle, but getting on the saddle is battling, you know.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26The saddle. Why don't we just sing it?
0:26:31 > 0:26:36# This battle back on the saddle... #
0:26:38 > 0:26:39- Oh!- No battles.
0:26:39 > 0:26:45What about, what about like, er, this battle's back in the saddle.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50- Mm.- You might as well just run or something, you know.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53# You might as well
0:26:53 > 0:26:57# Just run away from the guns. #
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- That kind brings it back. - Yeah.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Yeah. That's cool.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Shall we just, er...
0:27:07 > 0:27:11- Let's put that idea down. - Yeah.- In there.- OK.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- Can you play?- So with this song we call it Away from the Guns?
0:27:16 > 0:27:19- World War Three.- Oh, World War Three.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24# World War Three
0:27:26 > 0:27:27# Between... #
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Nobody owns a title so you could write a song today called All You Need Is Love,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33but obviously the danger would be
0:27:33 > 0:27:35that that is an unbelievably famous song
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and if you're going to write a song called All You Need Is Love,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41you have to actually beat the original version and make it better
0:27:41 > 0:27:45than that song which many people would argue is impossible.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47But I don't think there's probably many songs called World War Three.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50That's one of the good things about that title.
0:27:50 > 0:27:51# We've got stars directing... #
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Over 150 single are released every week in Britain,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58so it helps to have a title you can remember.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Better still, pick one that will get you lots of radio play,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04like this one by Guy and Robbie.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07# Millennium... #
0:28:07 > 0:28:12We wrote that in 1998 and we both knew there would be millennium songs
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and we thought there won't be many, but if we get in there
0:28:15 > 0:28:21really early with ours. It was quite calculating that song, actually.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23But there's nothing wrong with that.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26# Don't bore us
0:28:26 > 0:28:30# Skip to the chorus
0:28:30 > 0:28:37# There's so much more to come... #
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Rufus is recording the chorus, but his voice is beginning to tire.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Last night's gig at the Albert Hall has taken its toll.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53- Cool.- OK.- Would you like...?
0:28:53 > 0:28:56It would be good to hear... I don't know how tired your voice is,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58it's probably very tired.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02I just performed at the Albert Hall last night so, yes.
0:29:02 > 0:29:09Er, is there a way you could sing the chorus more bigger?
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- I could do it bigger, yeah. - Do you want me to help you?
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- Do you mean the don't bore us, skip to the chorus bit?- Yeah.- OK.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19It will give me help when I build the track up to know how big to make it.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- Oh, OK.- D'you know what I mean? Cos at the moment it's quite?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25- OK let me just do some... - Yeah.- ..which are big.- Cool.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29# They're gearing up
0:29:29 > 0:29:32# For a beating
0:29:32 > 0:29:36# Just face the hill... #
0:29:36 > 0:29:41I, I definitely want to hear somebody completely open out
0:29:41 > 0:29:43in their voice, absolutely.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Soaring is a good word, you know, and you can...
0:29:45 > 0:29:47I think the chorus has got that.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54Like Guy, who's classically trained, Rufus also has a musical background.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56He and his sister, the singer Martha Wainwright
0:29:56 > 0:29:59are part of a famous song writing dynasty.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02His parents are folk balladeers Loud & Wainwright
0:30:02 > 0:30:05and the late Kate McGarrigle.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Me coming from a folk tradition, my mother Kate McGarrigle
0:30:09 > 0:30:12was a great folk musician and my father steeped in that world
0:30:12 > 0:30:16and I grew up with all those old, really old ballads, you know,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21English ballads and Scottish ballads and French Canadian ballads, and...
0:30:21 > 0:30:26I think having had that, it gives me a good sort of resource to pull from.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34But is there any connection between those old ballads
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and the kind that Guy and Rufus are writing now?
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Well, ballads are definitely medieval.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43I'd say they probably go back further.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45They were stories that people told and then if,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48if it had a strong enough melody then that melody would be
0:30:48 > 0:30:51passed from, you know, village to village, town square to town square.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53Sooner or later they got written down.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57# Love hurts, love scars... #
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Samuel Pepys, the great diarist, he collected ballads.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04A huge, huge amount of ballads.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07We've got something like five volumes of these books here
0:31:07 > 0:31:08which are all Pepys ballads.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12What's interesting is when you've got them all together, you begin to
0:31:12 > 0:31:17see themes emerging, and the biggest theme unsurprisingly is love.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22Love lost in particular. Love's wound, love's cure.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Well, that's basically the same as loves, love hurts. Secret lovers.
0:31:26 > 0:31:32The cruel lover. Dying lovers' last farewell. Love's power and greatness.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35No love, no life.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39It's essentially love's gone wrong.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42They weren't worrying about the Plague or whatever.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44They were worrying about the fact that their true love
0:31:44 > 0:31:47had left them for, you know, the guy down the road.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52These are collected by Vaughn Williams,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55the Edwardian composer and great folk song enthusiast,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57and so let's have a look.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Saucy Sailor Boy, can't say I know that one.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03The Power of Love, there you go.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Now this is amazing.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09You know, Hughie Lewis and the News and Frankie goes to Hollywood
0:32:09 > 0:32:12do a Power of Love, and I think Jennifer Rush as well.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17The ultimate cheesy, lighter-in-the-air power ballad.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19And here it is, The Power of Love,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22you know over a hundred years earlier.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27# Cos I am your lady... #
0:32:27 > 0:32:30The power of love. We've been singing about it for centuries.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33Who knew there were so many different ways of talking about it?
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Here's another ballad from the 1980s, this time with a twist.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42A love song not about the power of love but about the power of money.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46# You dress me up I'm your puppet
0:32:46 > 0:32:48# You buy me things I love it... #
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Well, with Rent,
0:32:50 > 0:32:55the idea was to write a love song, but for it to be quite hard.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57It's not a romantic love song.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02It's probably not the story of a particularly happy relationship.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06# Look at my hopes, look at my dreams
0:33:06 > 0:33:09# The currency we spent
0:33:09 > 0:33:11# I love you... #
0:33:11 > 0:33:13I imagine this is a woman singing it,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16which is a bit strange cos I am obviously a man singing it
0:33:16 > 0:33:19but, um, when she sings, er, "Look at my hopes,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21"look at my dreams, the currency we've spent",
0:33:21 > 0:33:28but it's actually her life has been spent in this relationship and was it wasted?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32# You phone me in the evening on hearsay
0:33:32 > 0:33:35# And bought me caviar
0:33:35 > 0:33:39# You took me to a restaurant off Broadway
0:33:39 > 0:33:42# To tell me who you are... #
0:33:42 > 0:33:46A very important thing in pop music is to mix hard and soft together,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49which is quite simply John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
0:33:49 > 0:33:55and this has a sort of pretty tune, and then...
0:33:55 > 0:33:57it's got the brutal end. "You pay my rent."
0:33:57 > 0:34:00# I love you, you pay my rent. #
0:34:00 > 0:34:05It's got a ballady chord change in the bridge, the "Look at my hopes, look at my dreams,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08"the currency we spent," it's this yearning melody.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13# Look at my hopes, look at my dreams, the currency we've spent. #
0:34:13 > 0:34:16And then the melody's then resigned.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18# I love you, you pay my rent... #
0:34:18 > 0:34:21# I love you, you pay my rent. #
0:34:23 > 0:34:25I liked singing Rent.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26I was struck by what a sad song it is,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30and I don't think when we wrote it I was particularly thinking it's sad.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33I think it was meant to be a little bit cynical when we wrote it,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37but often you discover there's a real emotion there anyway,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39even if it's not what you intended.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47# Back in the saddle
0:34:47 > 0:34:50# Just turn around... #
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Over in the studio, Guy and Rufus have been cranking up the lyrics.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57# Away from the guns
0:34:57 > 0:35:00# Away from the guns... #
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- Twice.- Yeah, yeah.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06That would attract more attention to that line.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07Yeah, yeah.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09- Which might be good.- Yeah.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12# Away from the guns
0:35:12 > 0:35:14# Away from the guns
0:35:14 > 0:35:16# Doo, doo, doo, doo. #
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Oh, I like a bit of military, me.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Yeah, doo, doo, doo. Yeah, bring the guns in.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Yeah, 1812. What's the 1812 melody go?
0:35:26 > 0:35:28How does that go? Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30# La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. #
0:35:30 > 0:35:30We could sample that.
0:35:30 > 0:35:36Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. He's out of copyright, Tchaikovsky.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43It's lunch time, and the morning has been unusually productive.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46It's good that we've got somewhere, cos sometimes
0:35:46 > 0:35:49we could be at this point, well, you know, say a third through the day,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52where you haven't actually got anywhere.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54But you might find that the words do change,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58er, as we go further down the road with it.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03In the afternoon, Guy starts to build up the track,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06while Rufus wrestles with the lyrics.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Oh, OK, I got it, I got it.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21There's no more blood to run.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Yeah. Yeah.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28The song is almost done.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31All they have to do is work out how to end it.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34So what time is that?
0:36:34 > 0:36:36End on the same chord is 3.08.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38See, 3.08, which means there isn't time for a bridge.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41I have a "nothing over 4 minute" rule.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46What about one of those, like you just sort of say something repetitively at the end.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47Oh, yeah, like a...
0:36:47 > 0:36:49# Waga waga, na, na, na, na... #
0:36:49 > 0:36:51- An outro thing. - An outro, an outro.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- Yeah.- Sort of that then fades out.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Like the Hey Jude thing. Like a "nah-nah" section.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01# Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
0:37:03 > 0:37:07# Just put your cards on the table and call it a day
0:37:07 > 0:37:09# Run away. #
0:37:09 > 0:37:11I think it should be the same rhythm.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Yeah.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15The times we live in, that could be good for the chart.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17The times we live in.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19# The times we live in
0:37:20 > 0:37:21Are unforgiving.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25# Are very unforgiving
0:37:25 > 0:37:29- That's really nice melody, that. I really like that.- Good.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32- Thank you.- That's really hooky. Hold on, hold on a minute.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:37:39 > 0:37:41# Run away
0:37:41 > 0:37:43# Run away
0:37:43 > 0:37:44# Run away
0:37:44 > 0:37:47# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:37:47 > 0:37:49# Run away
0:37:49 > 0:37:51# Run away
0:37:51 > 0:37:52# Run away
0:37:52 > 0:37:55# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:37:55 > 0:37:57# Run away
0:37:57 > 0:37:59# Run away
0:37:59 > 0:38:00# Run away
0:38:00 > 0:38:03# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:38:03 > 0:38:06# Run away
0:38:06 > 0:38:08# Run away! #
0:38:08 > 0:38:12- That was an exhausting outro. - Yeah.
0:38:12 > 0:38:13Cool.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15Can I come hear something?
0:38:15 > 0:38:16Cool, yeah, yes, that would be great.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Can I put some strings on it, quickly, just to...
0:38:26 > 0:38:31It's the end of the day, and Guy and Rufus listen back to their work.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35# There's no more blood to run. #
0:38:40 > 0:38:43They're joined by Barbara Charone.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44Known in the business as BC,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47she's famous as Madonna's formidable publicist,
0:38:47 > 0:38:52and has been working with Rufus during his stay in London.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55The World War Two and World War One line's really good.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Are we good for today?
0:39:00 > 0:39:02- Yeah, I think we are. - Are we getting there?
0:39:02 > 0:39:04OK, an open house...
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Guy and Rufus have one more day together,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08but not for a couple of months.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11They'll be picking up in Rufus's town, Los Angeles.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12- See ya later.- See ya.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18The fact that it's reasonably finished is, is good.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21That's a nice feeling and it's, it's definitely the melody,
0:39:21 > 0:39:23I'm pleased with the melody and, so definitely it's
0:39:23 > 0:39:26a really good melody for him, he sounds amazing on it.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30But Guy's not sure about the chorus.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34"Don't bore us, get to the chorus" was his idea.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Now he's getting cold feet.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40I'm just wondering if the first line in the chorus
0:39:40 > 0:39:42is maybe a bit gimmicky,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45like maybe it's a bit of an in joke,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and I might suggest to him to try some other lines.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Yeah, let's try it like that and try not to rush, OK,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02it's a little bit slower than you think, the track.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06With Rufus gone, Guy can start putting some layers on the track.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10Once you start putting instruments on songs, that can then mean
0:40:10 > 0:40:12you look at it again in a different light.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14It could just change the way you hear the song,
0:40:14 > 0:40:20cos it started off as a ballad, which tends to mean slow tempo,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24but once you put rhythm around it, it can turn into something else.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29If you just played it on the piano and voice,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33it would sound quite operatic probably, but that's very much him.
0:40:41 > 0:40:42That afternoon,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46Guy invites his friend Don Black around for a listen.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Well, if the day went well in that,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58when he walked through the door there was nothing,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01and by the time he walked out, we'd done that. So that was a result.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Very good, I like it very much.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07He brings a kind of theatricality to it as well,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09everything he does has a theatricality.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14- Like Oscar Wilde singing? - Yeah, it is, it is.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16It's class, he's a class act, he's terrific.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Part of me would like to see a different lyric.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23- A completely different lyric? - A different first line in the chorus,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26- Make the chorus more...- What don't you like, the bore us and...?
0:41:26 > 0:41:29I think it's too knowing, it's what my instinct's saying.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- Make it more universal and more... - Yeah.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Try and make it more of a standard.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37On the other hand, you could read it, don't bore us,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39get to the chorus, but you could read it like
0:41:39 > 0:41:42- let's get to the nitty gritty. - That's what it's meant to be.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44That's what it's about, yeah,
0:41:44 > 0:41:46well it's another way of saying it in today's language.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Because he's the artist, you get away with it.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54If you had to sell this to someone and say now who can we get it to, you wouldn't get it to anyone.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56- No, you wouldn't. - No, you're right.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Well, you wouldn't get it to anyone, but the fact that he's the artist...
0:42:00 > 0:42:03No, it's good. It's a nice tune as well.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04Mm.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Yeah, very good, you've done something right.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15But what will Rufus think of the latest version?
0:42:15 > 0:42:16Hello.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Hello, Rufus, it's Guy Chambers.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Hi.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26After a two-week break, Guy contacts Rufus while he's on tour in New York.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29The camera's there, right? Are we...? Oh, there you are.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33Yeah, he camera is here, and we are recording this as well.
0:42:33 > 0:42:34Oh, OK, good...
0:42:34 > 0:42:38- So we...- And I love being recorded.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40So, um, how do you feel about the song?
0:42:40 > 0:42:45Sounds amazing, I mean I've, er, you know I've listened to it a lot,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48er, you know, by choice!
0:42:48 > 0:42:51So, so that's always a good sign, um...
0:42:51 > 0:42:53I think the "Don't bore us get to the chorus",
0:42:53 > 0:42:57I wasn't sure about it, but now I think it's very Oscar Wilde.
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Yes, yes.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03- I think...- I am Oscar Wilde's heir, musically so. I mean,
0:43:03 > 0:43:09I'm also hearing that, you know, 1812 Overture bit at the end.
0:43:09 > 0:43:10Oh, OK.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13You know, I hear a possibility for it,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16of how it could work with the chords and then, er,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19yeah it would be great to get some harmonies, um...
0:43:19 > 0:43:20Shall we do that in Los Angeles?
0:43:20 > 0:43:23Yeah, let's definitely do that.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25And are you cool to do it in my house?
0:43:25 > 0:43:26Yeah, yeah.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29- It's in Beechwood Canyon. - Yeah, I love Beechwood, I love Beechwood.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31- Good, all right.- OK.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33- OK, Rufus, well, enjoy your gig. - I will, bye.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Bye, bye, see ya.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41It's February, and Guy's on his way to LA
0:43:41 > 0:43:45to record Rufus's backing vocals and finish the song.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Well, the background vocals are often
0:43:47 > 0:43:49described as the makeup on the face of a song,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53and the sort of colour around the lead vocal,
0:43:53 > 0:43:58and they sort of support it and give it additional strength, I suppose.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10First, in a studio off Sunset Boulevard, some live drums.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12This is Victor Indrizzo,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15one of the most sought-after drummers in America.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19He's worked with everyone from Willie Nelson to Sheryl Crow.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22In the second version you go back to the tom thing,
0:44:22 > 0:44:27but it'd almost be cool to have like this kit almost sans amp doing half time against it.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Oh, yeah, that's something new happens, hm.
0:44:30 > 0:44:31Oh, yeah, cos at the moment it's,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34it's the same as the first verse, which isn't good.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47Next it's over to Guy's house in the Hollywood Hills.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Rufus arrives bleary-eyed.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56The new baby, Viva Catherine Wainwright Cohen, was born just three weeks ago.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Fantastic crescendo.
0:44:58 > 0:44:59Yeah.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The session begins with Tchaikovsky.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07Rufus is still keen to get the 1812 Overture into the track.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10The thing is that it's a lot slower the way I want to do it,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12the way I was thinking.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15HE HUMS 1812 OVERTURE
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- There you go. - Yeah.- Build it up.
0:45:37 > 0:45:43Yeah. This is how you write a hit song. You have to reference Tchaikovsky.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45That's what Black Swan did.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48- It's quite glorious, the ending, though.- Yes.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51It's very, very you.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55My endings are always glorious.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Beefing up a ballad with orchestration is not a new trick.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03We are, after all, in LA,
0:46:03 > 0:46:07the spiritual home of the super-sized power ballad.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10# If I could turn back time
0:46:10 > 0:46:14# If I could find a way... #
0:46:14 > 0:46:15This is Diane Warren,
0:46:15 > 0:46:18one of the most successful songwriters in the world.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22She's written more top ten hits than the Beatles,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26with stars like Cher, Celine Dion and Aerosmith.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31And she has her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34So what are the secrets from this serial hit-maker?
0:46:34 > 0:46:37Finding a new way of saying something
0:46:37 > 0:46:39that's been said a million times.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Finding that little tweak, that little slight difference, you know,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46that one little slight difference, you know, is a huge difference.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49# Unbreak my heart... #
0:46:49 > 0:46:52That's exactly what Diane Warren did when she came up with
0:46:52 > 0:46:55her blockbuster ballad Unbreak My Heart.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59I came up with the title for that song and, and I thought wow,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02that's like, I've never heard that said that way.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05I remember talking to a couple of friends, and saying what do you think?
0:47:05 > 0:47:08And I remember one of my friends goes, nobody would say that.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11I go, yeah, but, I could create something that said...
0:47:11 > 0:47:13# Unbreak my heart... #
0:47:13 > 0:47:16Don't break my heart, you know, fix my heart or,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18you know wouldn't have the same ring, would it.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22# Unbreak my heart... #
0:47:22 > 0:47:25# Unbreak my heart
0:47:25 > 0:47:27# Say you love me... #
0:47:27 > 0:47:31I mean it just had this thing that just, you know, kind of, I mean...
0:47:31 > 0:47:34It did it to me when I was writing it. I said oh, my God that's so cool.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38I was really excited about it and I went to play it for Clive Davis,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42and he said I want that for Toni Braxton, and I think he had to convince her.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44See what happens when an artist isn't sure,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47they don't want to do it, you know, it's like you can go, wow,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50how did you, how do you not hear that, how do you not want to do that?
0:47:50 > 0:47:53And it worked out she did it and, I don't know,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56it was, like, probably one of the biggest songs of all time.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00I don't really have that much musical education, you know,
0:48:00 > 0:48:01cos I'm mainly self taught, um,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04so I don't know what I'm doing stuff that's, you know, wrong
0:48:04 > 0:48:07or you know not the correct way which is great cos, you know,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10I can just go where my heart tells me to go, so that works out.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13# I can't live... #
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Big hair, big feelings, serious key changes.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Power ballads have been a noble fixture
0:48:18 > 0:48:24in the ballad hall of fame ever since they were invented in 1971 with this one.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27# I can't live...
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Once a guilty pleasure, they're now enjoying a bit of a comeback.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35This is Ultimate Power, one of the biggest club events in Britain.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38They play only power ballads.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40We love these songs more than anything.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43- And, more to the point, the general public do.- Yeah.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47So many of the tracks that we play in a night were massive number ones for weeks on end.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51# I would do anything for love...
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Meatloaf, Total Eclipse Of The Heart.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55- Aerosmith.- Bryan Adams.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59- Cher, If I Could Turn Back Time. - November Rain. Enormous.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Always end on double rain. November Rain into Purple Rain.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06# Purple rain, purple rain... #
0:49:06 > 0:49:09The production on all those songs is astonishing.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12The performance is incredible.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15I mean you know, you hear those vocals and, and they come across
0:49:15 > 0:49:18like they're giving their heart and soul into a microphone.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22# And I-I-I-I... #
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Here is my heart, it is on a plate, it belongs to you.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28And you've just smashed it into a million pieces with a glass,
0:49:28 > 0:49:30and a hammer, and, you know,
0:49:30 > 0:49:34and you literally like really feel where you're coming from.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36No-one wants to be big any more,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40and these people were writing songs to be enormous.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44And that's, you know, it's a difficult thing. Being cool's really easy.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01Up in the Hills, Guy is ready for some power harmonies from Rufus.
0:50:05 > 0:50:13# And everybody got a piece of the action
0:50:13 > 0:50:21# Everybody got a piece of the action
0:50:21 > 0:50:24# Don't... #
0:50:24 > 0:50:28- Nice.- Are we going to double that again?- OK.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32# And everybody
0:50:32 > 0:50:36# Got a piece of the action
0:50:36 > 0:50:39# Everybody
0:50:39 > 0:50:44# Got a piece of the action... #
0:50:46 > 0:50:48- Shall we have a listen to that?- OK.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51- We'll put some delay on it, I think. - Yeah.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54# Everybody
0:50:54 > 0:50:58# Got a piece of the action
0:50:58 > 0:51:02# Everybody
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# Got a piece of the action... #
0:51:05 > 0:51:07All right, well, I gotta go take a nap...
0:51:07 > 0:51:09- Yes, no, I understand. - ..cos I'm a father.
0:51:09 > 0:51:14Rufus and Guy will re-convene tomorrow night. Their plan...
0:51:14 > 0:51:16to test the song out at an impromptu gig
0:51:16 > 0:51:20in front of its first ever live audience.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23We're going to do a concert at the little venue in Hollywood,
0:51:23 > 0:51:28and we're going do a stripped back version of the song with piano,
0:51:28 > 0:51:35just piano and voice and, er, see how his fans relate to it.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Hello.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44Hi, everybody, my name is Rufus Wainwright
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and this is Guy Chambers and, er, yes.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52And we're all working tonight and the reason you're all here
0:51:52 > 0:51:58is because I'm introducing a new song called World War Three,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01which is a happy piece.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05So actually, I'm going to take the mic out cos it's more kind of pop.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08LAUGHING
0:52:08 > 0:52:13Better get ready for my hit song...stuff.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Um, yeah, and it's called, World War Three, here we go.
0:52:25 > 0:52:32# World War Three
0:52:32 > 0:52:38# Between you and me
0:52:40 > 0:52:47# Under siege
0:52:47 > 0:52:55# The land and the sea
0:52:55 > 0:52:58# And everybody
0:52:58 > 0:53:02# Wants a piece of the action
0:53:02 > 0:53:05# Everybody
0:53:05 > 0:53:10# Wants a piece of the action
0:53:10 > 0:53:14# Don't bore us
0:53:14 > 0:53:18# Skip to the chorus
0:53:18 > 0:53:25# There's so much more to come
0:53:25 > 0:53:33# The battle's back in the saddle
0:53:33 > 0:53:40# Just turn your back and run
0:53:40 > 0:53:44# Away from the guns
0:53:44 > 0:53:49# Away from the guns... #
0:53:57 > 0:54:00I have to be honest, I was extremely apprehensive
0:54:00 > 0:54:03about writing with anyone, I mean I'd written before with people
0:54:03 > 0:54:09and usually it's bit of a, sort of a dentistry experience,
0:54:09 > 0:54:13but with Guy... Um, the sensibility was one of, you know,
0:54:13 > 0:54:15let's do this for the song.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22# ..Despite World War One... #
0:54:22 > 0:54:25It was a really great experience and I'd love to try something else
0:54:25 > 0:54:27with him, he's got a phenomenal voice.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30# ..Got a piece of the action... #
0:54:30 > 0:54:35I still don't know if the first line in the chorus is a terrible mistake,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39um, but apart from that, I really, really enjoyed it.
0:54:39 > 0:54:47# ..Don't bore us, get to the chorus
0:54:47 > 0:54:54# There's no more blood to run
0:54:54 > 0:54:57# Don't bore us... #
0:54:57 > 0:55:01But what do industry insiders think of the song?
0:55:01 > 0:55:03# Battle... Just... #
0:55:03 > 0:55:07To find out, we took it to two of Britain's top radio pluggers.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10Is this the commercial ballad Rufus was hoping for?
0:55:10 > 0:55:14# Away from the guns
0:55:14 > 0:55:17# Away from the guns... #
0:55:17 > 0:55:21This is a classic song, it soars at the right moments, it just...
0:55:21 > 0:55:24- It's lovely, it drops back again, it doesn't just settle again.- Yeah.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27# ..World War Two... #
0:55:27 > 0:55:31- You just, kind of, have to stop and go, "I've got to listen to that." - Mm.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34But what do the pluggers think of the chorus.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37I really like the line, "Don't bore us, get to the chorus."
0:55:37 > 0:55:38I don't think it's an industry line,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42I think most people out there will understand and I do think it works in there.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47God, if that's the first time Rufus and Guy have written together
0:55:47 > 0:55:49you kind of think, "Do a bit more, guys."
0:55:51 > 0:55:55Will the song make the all important radio playlist?
0:55:55 > 0:55:58- Well, Radio 2, yeah... - All over, yeah.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- ..record of the week. - Radio 2.- It's Radio 2.
0:56:01 > 0:56:07I think in commercial radio, Absolute would want to bit of that big time, that's a big...
0:56:07 > 0:56:11You know, you can imagine people in their cars singing it.
0:56:11 > 0:56:18See, I hear this in, in a big old British romcom, with Curtis...
0:56:18 > 0:56:23- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - ..cos this is a massive, like, kind of...- It is, it's totally that.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28Right at the end where he gets the girl, she's run off, he realises he loves her, she's at the airport,
0:56:28 > 0:56:32- he has to get there, the train's stuck, it's one of those.- Yeah. - It's Notting Hill, it's...
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Yeah, totally, it's a big... Or even a Disney film, as well.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Hold it for the Olympics when someone gets a gold medal,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41going through the line, like that.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I can just... It's got that, it's emotive
0:56:44 > 0:56:49and, um, you know, I know that this is part of the ballad...
0:56:49 > 0:56:52- I know exactly what you're going to say.- ..But it's anthemic.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55- Totally, yeah. - It's completely anthemic.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59# ..Run away, run away, run away
0:56:59 > 0:57:02# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:57:02 > 0:57:09# Run away, run away, run away. #
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Thank you so much.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16And goodnight.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Thank you, Guy.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:57:25 > 0:57:28I thought it was a triumph, I think it could be a hit,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31it's a very commercial record for Rufus
0:57:31 > 0:57:34and I think it marries Guy and Rufus's sensibilities
0:57:34 > 0:57:35really, really well.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38I think it went well. What about you?
0:57:38 > 0:57:42It was a buzz, it was a really good buzz, you know, er,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45- I couldn't see their faces...- Yeah. - I was looking at the piano.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47- Yeah.- Were they listening?
0:57:47 > 0:57:48Oh, yeah, no, they were listening,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51but they always do when I'm up there.
0:57:52 > 0:57:57# World War Three... #
0:57:57 > 0:58:02You seem to be taking it in and... Cos they're all thinking,
0:58:02 > 0:58:03"Hmm, what is this?"
0:58:04 > 0:58:09My daughter was there, Viva Catherine Wainwright Cohen, which was sweet.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I didn't call too much attention to that.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13No, you didn't, you were very subtle.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16- Yeah, back in the saddle.- Yeah.
0:58:16 > 0:58:21# ..The land and the sea... #
0:58:21 > 0:58:22# They tried to make me go to rehab... #
0:58:22 > 0:58:25Next week, it's the break through single.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27The Holy Grail for any new artist.
0:58:27 > 0:58:32Guy joins forces with pop maestro Mark Ronson.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Can they create a song to put exciting new talent
0:58:34 > 0:58:38Tarwea on the musical map?
0:58:38 > 0:58:41# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:58:41 > 0:58:46# Run away, run away, run away
0:58:46 > 0:58:49The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:58:49 > 0:58:54# Run away, run away, run away
0:58:54 > 0:58:57# The times we live in are very unforgiving
0:58:57 > 0:59:03# Run away, run away, run away. #
0:59:03 > 0:59:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd