“I’ve got to the stage where I can do what I want.”
You might have worked that out even if Chambers hadn’t said this in a room at his studio - which is very much the kind of studio you would own if you got to the stage where you can ‘do what you want’. Based in a trendy part of North London it boasts one of Abbey Road’s mixing desks in its control room and has a lot of platinum discs on the walls.
You might have worked out that Chambers has got to the stage where he can do what he wants even if you couldn’t boast an intimate knowledge of his CV, which stretches from playing keyboards with Julian Cope and World Party in the mid-80s to writing and producing for a host of pop artists: Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Beverley Knight, Andrea Bocelli, James Blunt, Tina Turner, Jamie Cullum, Katie Melua, Scissor Sisters, Tom Jones and The Wanted.
All in all, you might have worked out that Chambers has got to the stage where he can do what he wants based solely on his work with Robbie Williams, co-writing virtually every track - Angels, Millennium, Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ, Feel, No Regrets, Strong – on which the biggest-selling British solo artist’s 57 million-album-shifting career was founded – producing five albums that eventually made their way into 40 million homes.
Success on that scale clearly enables you to ‘do what you want’.
Let’s rewind for a moment to Chambers’ formative years when, at the tender age of eight he was to pen his first song, although it was his time spent studying composition and piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London where he was to fully master his craft. But nothing could’ve prepared Chambers for the whirlwind journey ahead of him when ex-boy band singer Williams was to walk into his life. The rest – as we know – is firmly cemented in pop history.
Chambers, however, is not one to be complacent. Fast-forward almost 20 years - post-Robbie – and his passion, innovation, & drive in wanting to collaborate with new artists and form new projects is relentless, and shows no sign of faltering. Chambers is constantly, deliberately striving to find ways to be creative outside of his comfort zone.
This fearless attitude to venture head-first into new, unknown musical territories continuously steers Chambers into an eclectic mix of projects, featuring a fairly mind-boggling cast, in which Rufus Wainwright, Goldie, Prince Harry, John Lennon, Mark Ronson & Dave McCabe from The Zutons have all made appearances. From TV shows, to musicals, to hosting his own music night (a music night where you’re just as likely to spot a tap dancer as you are Katie Melua singing The Velvet Underground’s homage to sado-masochism Venus In Furs - accompanied by a girl in bondage gear) - it would be pretty fair to say there is rarely a dull moment in Chambers’ professional repertoire.
More recent collaborations and triumphs include writing with Brit newcomer Miles Kane and recording artist taking-artist-Europe-by-storm, Marlon Roudette (Mattafix) whose single ‘New Age’, co-written and produced by Chambers, became the longest running number one single by a British artist in Germany for thirty years, remaining at the top spot for 8 weeks.
Another German, soon-to-be success story is Chambers’ collaboration with Berlin-born chanteuse, Schmidt. An unexpected chance pairing with the singer resulted in the majority of her debut album being co-written with Guy. Schmidt is currently touring her album around the world with Guy sometimes making pop-up appearances accompanying her on the piano.
Guy remains passionate about championing and investing in new music and artists, and because of this very reason he is now managing the Go Sees – an all-female indie/rock band set to blow the music-industry apart in the not too distant future. This is a project particularly close to his heart as being a father to 4 young children - 3 of whom are girls – Guy feels very strongly about the fact that there “isn’t enough strong, female role-models in the music industry”. He is set upon putting that right.
And Katie Melua singing Venus in Furs in the company of a girl in bondage gear? She made an appearance at The Orgasmatron; - the club night Chambers runs in Shoreditch with club impresario and founder of Lovebox, Ross Clark. An infinitely stranger and diverse event than you might expect, given his track record in the world of impossibly polished pop music, a typical evening’s entertainment might include beat-boxer Faith SFX, Brit soul-diva Beverley Knight singing a hard-rock set or Shingai from the Noisettes leading a conga! “It’s kind of an ‘anti-cool’ club in some ways; it’s good to get out there and meet people and be accessible” he explains. “I get a collection of mates and people I’ve been recommended to try and put on ... it’s a weird night. It’s not variety in the Morecambe and Wise sense but I do like the idea of having a juggler, then a DJ, then a string quartet because in a way, that’s what Britain’s like: a bizarre mix. It’s getting a bit of a following. I’m not trying to prove anything by it, I just think it’s a good thing to do”, which seems fair enough. You could say that last remark is Guy Chambers’ current modus operandi.
Yes, Chambers may have reached the stage where he can ‘do what he wants’ and yes, you may see him exercising that well-earned right from time to time, but music nights and TV shows aside, whether for himself or for others, you are still most likely to find Guy dividing his time between his London & LA studio doing what he loves best, and arguably what he does best, and that is, simply, writing songs.