Normally I don't compromise at all but it felt important to give that song the chance to be heard.

You have to try and embrace it all and everyone who represents that change because it is happening.

The whole positioning and atmosphere of the song ["King of the Mountain"] was to build up this thunderstorm that would take us all onstage off into a story where we were suddenly in the middle of the ocean.

When I'm writing I've been playing something for a couple of hours and I'm almost in a trance. At two or three in the morning you can actually see bits inspiration floating about and grab them.

I love words, I think they're fascinating and incredibly wonderful things and part of the joy of my work is that I not only get to work with music but also with words. Sometimes it's a difficult process but a lot of the time it's really fun.

It's not that I don't like American pop; I'm a huge admirer of it, but I think my roots came from a very English and Irish base. Is it all sort of totally non-American sounding.

If you believe in what you do and you really want to be in music, just stick at it. It's always a learning process. Enjoy it because I think making music is a privilege, really. In an ideal world, it should also always be fun. As much as possible, make it fun.