"There is no explanation why songs live on. I suppose if we could put our finger on it songwriters would be writing them forever."

"We were perfectionists. ‘Should that be ‘and’ ‘but’ or ‘when’? It’s only a word but it can make a difference."

“Getting a Christmas No. 1 is the songswriter’s dream – because there’s only 1 every year!”

“The thing about us and covers, is that in so many instances we made the definitive version of the record. In a way it’s a shame – but it’s great to have made the definitive version.”

The super-successful Chinnichap team - Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman - wrote some of the biggest pop and glam rock hits of the 70’s.

Nicky and Mike were behind a string of million selling hits, writing for acts such Sweet (‘Ballroom Blitz’, ‘Teenage Rampage’), Suzi Quatro (‘Can the Can’ ’48 Crash’), Mud (‘Tiger Feet’, 'Lonely This Christmas’) and Smokie (‘Living Next Door To Alice’). In one week 1974, the top three singles in the UK Charts were all Chinnichap songs – representing  nearly a quarter of all singles sold in Britain that week.

These credentials made Nicky the perfect choice for Spotify’s new Secret Genius series, interviewing the songwriting talent behind some of the biggest musical success stories. Listen below to Spotify’s Rob Fitzpatrick sit down with Nicky to talk songwriting, hit singles and ask – one hundred million sales later – how did they do it?