69 | Alexis Ffrench x Believe in People Podcast Collaboration: Classical Connections, Apple Music & Believe

Apple Music x Believe in People: A Classical Connections Feature

In this special collaboration, Believe in People host Matthew Butler is featured on Classical Connections, the Radio Academy Award-winning podcast hosted by renowned pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench. 

Originally broadcast on Apple Music, this episode forms part of the acclaimed 60-Second Sonata segment, where Alexis listens to a personal story and responds by composing a bespoke piece of music. Inspired by Butler’s reflections on trauma, addiction, and hope, Ffrench created a new original composition titled “Believe” - a piano piece that captures the emotional gravity of the conversation.

In the conversation, Butler traces the origins of the Believe in People podcast and shares how his perceptions of addiction were transformed by speaking with hundreds of individuals in recovery. What emerges is an honest and sometimes difficult exploration of what leads people to substance use, the deeply personal nature of "rock bottom," and the power of simply listening without judgement. 

In a generous move to help expand the conversation around recovery, Apple Music has donated both the composition “Believe” and the full interview audio for wider use within the recovery community.

Full Series below ⬇️
🔗 apple.co/ClassicalConnections

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📩 Contact: robbie@believeinpeoplepodcast.com
🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” by Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)

🔗 Listen & Subscribe
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4Cr4wzZ6bxku1cRcoYKbGK
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/believe-in-people/id1617239923

🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Classical Connections Radio
• 0:27 Introducing Matthew Butler and Believe in People
• 1:06 Origins of an Inspirational Podcast
• 4:01 Understanding Rock Bottom Moments
• 6:15 Breaking Stigma Through Personal Stories
• 9:14 Musical Response and Episode Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

This is Classical Connections Radio. Classical Connections Radio on Apple Music.

Speaker 2: 0:10

There you are. So good to have you back with me. Hope the wind is in your sails today, and welcome to Classical Connections Radio. I'm Alexis French. Consider me your dutiful guide, or musical concierge, as we traverse this life-affirming classical landscape together. You're listening to Classical Connections Radio. I'm Alexis French, and it's time for 60 Second Sonata. Joining me this week is a wonderful broadcaster and host of a really special podcast called Believe in People, which you can find on Apple Podcasts. I think you're really going to connect with him.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Classical Connections Radio with Alexis French.

Speaker 2: 0:48

Delighted to say that joining me today for 60 Seconds Sonata is the wonderful Matthew Butler, who's one half of the creative team behind the amazing podcast Believe in People. Where do I start? Tell me about how it all started, how this incredible podcast started for you.

Speaker 3: 1:06

Interestingly enough, I've had the idea for the podcast for a number of years. I started working in a substance misuse service almost 10 years ago and my original idea was I was just going to stay here for a couple of months. I remember my car insurance was due at the time that was over a thousand pound, and I just wanted to do an office job for a little while and then get back on the road with my life as a professional wrestler which sounds bizarre, but that was that was my life, and once, once I got here, I was just really inspired by the people that I was talking to and I think, like a lot of people, I had a big misunderstanding of drug addiction, often thinking it's a choice. You're doing this to yourself. But I think when I started to meet people and delve into their stories, it quickly became apparent that what these people that was using this service was dealing with was a lot of childhood trauma, and I think, hearing their stories, I often put myself in that position and thought if I experienced a fraction of what they had experienced, I think I would be looking for escapism through substance misuse too, seeing people go from almost the brink of death, which is very much the case in our service to turning their life around was so inspiring and I think for me. I was sitting in this room and I was hearing these stories of recovery and and the adversity that people had gone through and coming out the other end and I just thought, if more people heard these stories, if we got these stories beyond these four walls, we could really challenge the perception and the stigma of what drug addiction is, of what alcohol addiction is, the realities of it and what people go through to come out the other end and seeing how they rebuild their lives. And I'm lucky that after 10 years here and again, like I said, I originally planned to stay here for just a handful of months I still come to work every single day feeling inspired.

Speaker 3: 3:01

And that was the idea of the podcast was to really showcase these stories. And once I met, coincidentally, my producer Robbie, and I told him of my idea, he was like, well, let's do it. And I'd sat on this idea for years and much like a lot of things, I was like, yeah, of course we'll do it. But within two weeks he came to me with he had the hosting, he had the equipment and he just said to me me all you need to do is get me a participant, and I'd gone on to become the volunteer lead here at the service. So there was a lot of people with lived experience who wanted to tell their stories on air, basically, and that's what we did. We just didn't expect it to be as big of a success as it has been, and the mantra for the organisation is believe in people, and I think to work in service, that's what we need to do. We need to believe in people, we need to believe that people can change, and that was the idea for the podcast is sharing these stories. Is there a?

Speaker 2: 3:53

personal experience that has inspired your personal journey in helping people to rediscover the essence of themselves.

Speaker 3: 4:01

Yeah, absolutely so. I work in a drug and alcohol treatment service in Hull. We, you know, worked with the people of Hull and I think, being a relatively deprived city, we do have a high number of people that use the service. I mean, I can't give you the population of the city, but I know there's up to 3000 people that use our drug and alcohol treatment service for help with various substances, whether that be alcohol, heroin, ketamine, cocaine, cannabis.

Speaker 3: 4:28

And we're not here to tell people don't use drugs. Drugs are bad for you is an addiction. If someone is an addict, that they're going to use those substances regardless of what we say. Our main job is to keep those people safe whilst they are using substances and motivate them to make changes. And I think, like anything, if you see a I don't know, maybe it's just me, but if I see a sign that says wet paint, do not touch, I want to touch it. Now, if I said to someone stop using drugs, they're probably going to, you know, rebel against that idea. So the idea is working with them where they're at and waiting for that penny to drop with them, and it could be the experience of a rock bottom moment.

Speaker 3: 5:11

I think that's the interesting thing that we explore in our podcasts are people's rock bottom moments, when life couldn't get any worse for them, and that's when they decide to make the changes, and the rock bottoms are always interesting. I I know an individual who had their leg amputated from injecting into their groin. That was the only vein they could get. Eventually they lost their leg. You'd think that'd be enough, but that wasn't their rock bottom moment. They carried on injecting into the other leg and eventually lost that leg as well, and I think I think that is the power that addiction has.

Speaker 3: 5:41

But alternatively, I've worked with a woman who had alcohol problems and for her, the rock bottom was she forgot to pick her kids up from school because she was too intoxicated throughout the day. Now, very, very different rock bottom moments, but that was the moment for her when she wanted to get help. For the other person, again, two legs amputated and still not that rock bottom moment. And that for me, shows the difference in where people are in terms of what does it take to make changes, and that in itself is something that I found incredibly interesting and, again, when people do make those changes, incredibly inspiring to hear those stories as well.

Speaker 2: 6:16

It's so important for so many different reasons, and I know that your podcast has had such a major effect on the local communities.

Speaker 3: 6:23

I think it's seeing and that stigma that people face. And I think, knowing myself for years and being someone who judged people as well, I remember going to my previous job that I had and I'd see people drinking you know super strength lager at such an early time in the morning. I thought nice for some people to enjoy a drink at this time of day and to you know, party all night, sort of thing. And I think it was that understanding of actually no, that isn't the case. The main reason for this podcast I will share this story was as part of my original role. We all used to have to take turns working on the reception desk. We didn't have a set receptionist, so we all got to do it and, in my naivety and maybe a lack of understanding of where appropriate conversations are meant to be had, a woman had come in and she had a black eye and she looked really in a bad way and I hadn't been working the service very long at the time when I asked her why do you take drugs anyway? And that's when she shared a story of the trauma that she'd faced of sexual abuse at the hands of not just her dad but her dad's friends, her uncles, and it broke my heart so much to think that the person that should be protecting this, this, this woman, was actually causing, causing her harm and seeing her in a completely different light, and it goes back to that. Okay, that's, that is what happened to you, and I think now, when I walk through the town center, for instance, and I see a homeless person, it used to just be, oh, that's just another casualty of society. But now my, my brain thinks what happened to you in your life to find yourself in that situation and realising that everybody has a story to tell, everybody you know, you walk through, you know the city centre, you'll walk past hundreds of people. Every single person has a story to tell and I think, using that as the ethos of the podcast, to share those stories and hopefully to inspire change in others.

Speaker 3: 8:24

I think during the lockdown, for instance, people couldn't attend mutual aid meetings. It wasn't how we connect now over FaceTime and, and you know Zoom and and you know Teams. There wasn't this connection there in the way that we have it now. I think that's something that's come on a lot in the last five years, but people wasn't going to these mutual aid meetings where their recovery was so dependent on and I think creating a recovery on the go model was another thing that, yes, maybe you can't go there in person, maybe you you're too anxious to go there in person, but you still need to hear these stories to inspire you. And that is where the ethos of let's let's make this podcast and let's get this story out there, and I think now we can officially say that we're one of the, if not the the biggest recovery podcast in the UK Wow.

Speaker 2: 9:08

Amazing. I'm going to turn to the piano and thank you so much for sharing that with me, matt, so eloquently. I'm going to turn to the piano. There are always keys and tonalities and shades and, I guess, shards of sound that come through words, that are communicated with words, but also through aura and presence. It's a lovely key, there's a major, but there's also this if you introduce these qualities into the key turns into something no-transcript.

Speaker 2: 12:09

And thank you so much for your powerful words, really appreciate you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Hurtling towards the end of the show, I'm going to close with something very special, and this piece, once again, is accompanied by a listening guide on the Apple Music Classical app. It's Mahler's Symphony no 2 in C minor, the Resurrection, and this features the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, in chorus Sir Simon Rattle, dame Janet Baker and Arlene Auger, and we hear Marla's passionate, stylish, explosive writing in the symphony, which concludes with this awe-inspiring expression of hope, of optimism, and it will leave you utterly awestruck. Until next week, take care, be good and don't forget to go where the music takes you.

Speaker 3: 13:18

And if you've enjoyed this episode of the believing people podcast, we'd love for you to share with others who might find it meaningful. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode, and leaving a review will help us reach more people and continue challenging stigma around addiction and recovery for additional resources, insights and updates, explore the links in this episode description and to learn more about our mission and hear more incredible stories.