Christopher by Christopher

CHRISTOPHER – Album Biography

Christopher captures a singular and exhilarating moment in my life: a young songwriter trusted, encouraged, and given space to follow his own instincts.

I was already signed to Polydor, having been championed by Paul Morgan, and had begun making records with producers such as Thomas Dolby and Dave Bascombe. It was during this period — fresh from the global success of the Stars tour — that Mick Hucknall chose to work with me. From a world of writers and musicians, he singled me out, and that vote of confidence proved transformative. Mick also felt the album should carry my given name — Christopher — a simple but meaningful gesture of belief in the songs and in me as an artist.

Mick was generous, curious, and deeply musical. We spent time recording in Italy, where he would take me out on bike rides between sessions, and in the studio he was endlessly supportive. At one point he told me I was “as good as Paul Simon as a writer” — his words, not mine, but words I’ll never forget.

The album attracted a remarkable group of collaborators. Thomas Dolby created the original version of “Funny Five Minutes,” a bold, forward-thinking take that reflected his uniquely inventive musical mind. Mick immediately heard the song as a potential single, and we later mixed a version at AIR Studios that leaned into its pop heart while retaining its idiosyncrasy.

“Counting Out Time,” mixed by Julian Mendelsohn, opens the album for a reason. At the time, its quiet confidence was almost taken for granted — the song simply was, without needing to announce itself. Heard now, it feels unmistakably single-shaped: melodic, emotionally direct, and quietly epic. The production places the vocal and melody at the centre while giving the track a scale that still feels contemporary. More striking still is how clearly it aligns with the musical identity I would later explore more fully — melodic architecture, emotional understatement, and space. In hindsight, the lead single was always there, hiding in plain sight.

“Surrender” was produced by Dave Bascombe, whose work on The Seeds of Love I admired enormously at the time. Dave and I shared more than studio hours — he once gave me a lift home in his Jensen Interceptor, which promptly broke down near Marc Bolan’s tree in Barnes, after he’d taken me there. It felt like some strange rite of passage.

During the recording of Surrender at Olympic Studios, Duran Duran were on Top of the Pops performing “Ordinary World.” I ran into the control room and announced, breathlessly, that it was the best record they’d ever made — sublime, I thought. Dave disagreed entirely. Ten years later, we ran into each other at the ASCAP Awards, hugged, and laughed about it. “I was wrong,” he said. “What a song. Great writers, Duran were.” Some truths just take time.

Despite the quality of the music and the calibre of the people involved, Polydor never quite knew what to do with me. I existed slightly outside the prevailing industry lanes — too introspective, too singular, unwilling to contort myself into daytime television or boy-band expectations. I wasn’t interested in playing that game. My heroes were Mark Hollis and Paddy McAloon. I was trying to make records that might impress them — thoughtful, melodic, emotionally precise — even if that meant occupying my own world.

Looking back now, Christopher feels less like a debut that slipped through the cracks and more like a beautifully preserved snapshot: a time of belief, freedom, and extraordinary collaboration. Heard today, without pressure or expectation, it stands as an opening statement — confident, assured, and unmistakably its own. It belongs proudly in my archive, not as a footnote, but as evidence of an artist being trusted to follow his own compass, surrounded by brilliant people, at a moment when anything felt possible.

Chris Braide is a British songwriter, producer, and artist

He has co-written, produced with everyone, and wrote the Sia hit 'Unstoppable':
He is one half of the progressive rock duo Downes Braide Association (DBA) with Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes, and was a founder member of Producers with Stephen Lipson and Ash Soan

christopherbraide.com
Instagram