Leon Ockenden and Rhik Samadder

Hello friends! In this episode of the podcast, we present two stories about songs that have really and truly acted as a solace and a salve through difficult times. And though the times described in these stories were unquestionably difficult, the stories themselves are utterly joyous - and very, very funny. Your first storyteller is actor, writer and director Leon Ockenden. You may know Leon from his role as Will Chatterton on Coronation Street, or from his regular appearances on This Morning. This week’s second storyteller is author and journalist Rhik Samadder. Rhik is a freelance journalist, whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Times, GQ and Prospect, and the author of the bestselling memoir I Never Said I Loved You, which is out now in paperback, and which is - like Rhik’s story - incredibly moving and incredibly funny. (Oh - here’s a big shout out to Rhik for holding the record for most appearances on our live show - he’s told that story at Wilton’s Music Hall, Riverside Studios, The Wilderness Festival, Bradford Literature Festival, Coventry and Gateshead. What a hero.) As always, we’re unable to play the music tracks on our podcast for rights reasons, but you can listen to them here: If you’ve enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to our Substack so you’ll never miss an episode. And if you want to experience the life-changing power of music live in person, come along to our next live show at Kings Place in King’s Cross, London, on Thursday September 19th, when our guests will be Katherine Parkinson, Shaun Keaveny, Doug Naylor, Dorian Lynskey and Rachel Fairburn. Tickets are available now. Huge thanks, as always, to our producer Haresh Patel. Thanks for listening - we’ll be back again next week with more stories about life-changing songs. KB. Next Show - September 19th| Tickets Here Listen to Our Podcast | Substack | Apple Podcasts | Spotify Follow Us | Instagram | TikTok This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onetrackminds.substack.com