What's The Secret to Writing a Hit?

Original post from The Guardian

How do you write a hit song? Many authors have claimed to know the secret, and software developers have tried to come up with a formula by running thousands of chart-toppers through computer programs. Of course, no one has a definitive answer. But Guy Chambers, a songwriter who has had his fair share of hits, tried to shed some light on the issue at a recent songwriters masterclass at the British Academy of Composers and Authors (BASCA).


Chambers, like most successful songwriters, started out by playing in bands. He was a member of World Party before forming the Lemon Trees, but as they struggled to gain notable success he turned his attention to writing for other artists, including Bryan Adams and Cathy Dennis. Yet, he felt depressed. "The business was really wearing me down," says Chambers. But when he was on the verge of giving it all up to become a music teacher, his publisher introduced him to Robbie Williams, and he knew straight away they had something special. "We'd sit down together. He'd sing at me while I was playing, and I'd suggest the next bit, then we'd go through the lines one by one and edit," says Chambers. "He was such a determined pop star that I had to be as ambitious as he was and raise my game."

The first song they wrote together was Angels. "I got a migraine from overexcitement," says Chambers. "I knew it was a winner." Robbie had the melody for the verse in his head for a while, and the rest of it came together in half an hour. His co-writer attributes part of the song's success to its economy with words, saying it's easy to remember and sing along to. Quite a few people did, and eventually it was voted best single of the past 25 Years at the Brit awards in 2005.

Apart from Angels, some of Chambers's favourite "babies" are Feel and Millennium. "Using the sample of John Barry's James Bond theme from You Only Live Twice was Robbie's idea," he says. This meant they had to give 50% of the publishing/credit to Barry and the theme's lyricist Leslie Bricusse, despite no lyrics from the original being featured in Millennium. Yet Chambers doesn't feel hard done by, citing the case of Bittersweet Symphony, in which the Verve had to give all the publishing to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as much worse. "Jagger and Richards didn't even write the bit they'd sampled – it was part of the arrangement of a cover of the Stones' The Last Time."

Initially, Robbie didn't want to sing Rock DJ, as he thought it was cheesy. "We had the hook, chorus and the title, but he hated my melody for the verse," says Chambers. "So, as a compromise, he prayed to Ian Dury and made a rap. 'No head, no backstage passes' – I can't believe he was allowed to say that on the radio."

The pair never had any real creative disputes until the end of their partnership. Chambers says Robbie moving to LA was a factor in their "breakup", adding that there's no truth to the rumour Robbie didn't like him writing with others. "We simply didn't write enough (once he did), and so quality went down. You have to write 10 songs to get one good one. There's a high wastage to being a songwriter."

What other advice does Chambers have for budding songwriters? "First of all: people will normally say no to you, so get used to that and just move on to the next song." Demos are dead, so only play an A&R person tracks that sound like they can go straight on the radio. Make sure it's loud. Have a good title (one A&R will only listen to a track if he likes the title). If you have trouble getting songs to established artists, find a great budding artist with a good backstory, such as James Blunt's soldier credentials, to be your partner.

Chambers also talks about the importance of finding the right key for an artist, using his Tina Turner song as an example: "She always wants to sing in the highest pitch possible, so I had to rerecord each instrument at the same time as we recorded her vocals." The wrong key may also have been the reason we didn't see Robbie fronting Queen, according to Chambers. "The band approached him after he did a cover of We Are the Champions. I said, 'Robbie can't sing in those keys (that Freddie Mercury sang in)'. But Brian May said Queen songs should only be played in their original key."

Of course, the Robbie split did not spell the end of Chambers's career. He's written for artists including Beverley Knight and Will Young. He recently wrote with Katie Melua ("a fearless lyricist and great singer") for her latest album, and will soon be writing with Rufus Wainwright ("he's dying to have a hit"). But what he's really excited about is a TV project he's doing with Goldie, in which the pair are mentoring 12 children from "challenging backgrounds" to perform their own music.

Some people say that Guy Chambers made Robbie Williams's solo career, others say that Robbie made Guy Chambers. I'd say that they made each other. No books or computer programs can recreate the magic that happens when two perfectly suited songwriters come together. Claiming you have that formula would be to say you have the formula for a perfect marriage. And, as Chambers can testify, even perfect musical marriages hardly ever last.