For TV you also get those pre-interviews when researchers ask you what you're going to say. The pre-interview drives me insane. If they've already decided the outcome, why don't I just hand in an essay? Maybe if we talk we'll find something out. I'd rather just have an awkward pause.

Noise is an easy thing to hide behind. If you make a lot of noise and shout behind that, nobody can tell what you're singing.

I'm always nervous when I perform anyway.

I would like to believe in an afterlife; it makes things more palatable. But I'm not banking on it.

In a song you can kind of stage-manage everything so that it puts you in a good light. And once a song is recorded, it always performs well.

Being chronically shy I needed to create a persona for myself and be involved with a band where I could be ruler of my own kingdom. Then Pulp became hugely popular and I lost control of it, which is when it all went wrong.

I always thought that I might retire from any form of sexuality by the age of 40 and just become a dignified older person.