I'm not David Bowie. Who are we kidding? At the end of the day, I'm the same person I've always been. I'm Don Garvey's son from up the road.

There is temptation to place too much importance on those things that you're meant to do, and not on to little everyday happinesses. I think if you do what makes you happy on a daily basis, your days gather into years and you have a happy life. I don't want to think too far ahead. I want to make sure that I enjoy tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. And we'll see what happens.

I think 'Elbow' were considered successful even before [2008's] Seldom Seen Kid because we were living off the band. We have a great manager who keeps our coffers topped off, and we give ourselves a sensible wage with a view to having three fallow years between records. We always make sure we have enough money to make a record and not be pressured time-wise.

"Open Arms" has a lot of unison singing in it. And it works: Grown men will come to our gigs and cry during that one.

I remember going foraging for breakfast in St. Louis once. I saw this one girl sitting in front of the venue, and she made this pink T-shirt with a big heart in the middle of it and a misty picture of our guitarist Mark [Potter]. She was so embarrassed when she saw me. And I was trying desperately not to laugh.

The British press isn't as vicious as it used to be, and these days it's sort of cool to care again. Everyone loves an everyman anthem.

I usually tell somebody if a song’s for them. I don’t always tell them if it’s about them.