Squeeze’s Chris Difford to guest present Radio 2 Folk Show

Chris Difford is to host the Folk Show on BBC Radio 2, sitting in for regular host Mark Radcliffe.

Difford was a founding member of Squeeze along with Glenn Tilbrook. The pair also recorded under the name Difford & Tilbrook following a temporary break up of Squeeze. They have co-written many songs, including Up The Junction, Cool For Cats, Labelled With Love and Tempted.

Chris is a Grammy nominated and double Ivor Novello Award winning lyricist, who has been writing songs for over 40 years.

For more than 25 years, he’s been running songwriting retreats and has also collaborated with folk and acoustic songwriters including Kathryn Williams and Boo Hewerdine.

Next January, Chris is taking part in Radio 2’s 21st Century Folk, by writing a new song about a real Radio 2 listener from the North East of England.

The project will create a musical time capsule of northern life in 2023, in which five real people will have their life experiences immortalised in song.

In addition to his music, Chris also hosts his own podcast, I Never Thought It Would Happen, featuring fellow songwriters and big names in music. Among those he has interviewed are Sting, Yungblud, Tom Odell, Nile Rodgers, Kathryn Williams, Guy Garvey, Jack Savoretti, KT Tunstall and Richard Thompson.

When Chris sits in for Mark Radcliffe on the Folk Show, he’ll be playing songs by his favourite folk and acoustic songwriters.

You can hear him on BBC Radio 2 on 9 November at 9pm.