Chaka Khan
American singer
A friend said, “If you remembered everything you did, you’d kill yourself.” He’s sort of crazy, but he’s probably right.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
This was said about me in a Radio 1 focus group: “I don’t pay my licence fee to hear scummy northerners.”
The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 August 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →“Didn’t you used to be Graydon Carter?”
I was called the N-word in Romford, by someone stepping off a train as I was getting on.
“Do you know what your problem is?” It was a dear friend of mine. They were referring to the fact that I’m impatient.
More from Mark Radcliffe
View profile →A sense of what’s right, a few quid and some nice paintings.
Working in a bottle factory, which lasted one day, and the Radio 1 breakfast show.
A drummer in a famous band or an astronaut.
The Radio 1 breakfast show was an embarrassing moment that lasted for nine months.
Fairly decent bloke.
Nothing. I survived a cancer scare at 60, so I am just overjoyed to be here.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Kevin Rowland, PP Arnold, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Paapa Essiedu, Brandi Carlile, Olly Alexander
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- All failure & regret questions
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- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject