Avril Lavigne sold a massive amount of albums and she has to top that with her next release. We have four great albums behind us, and it's not going to be as hard to live up to that.

I'm not a betting man.

I heard the Bloc Party record Japan before it came out in the UK as they are on the V2 record label. I think it has a great vibe and has great songs. I also think the Kings of Leon are right up my street.

I don't really know how to do anything else except music. But I do. I've never felt more comfortable doing it. When I was put into arenas and stadiums when I was 27, I always thought somebody was going to say, 'No, they're not here for you.' You don't quite believe that they actually like you, because it's an extreme change in your life. Which is insane really, because they bought the ticket. So you start feeling more comfortable in your skin the more you do something, or the older you get.

Japan is quite weird because they wait for you to say something before they respond. You can literally hear a pin drop, they don't make a sound until you say something to the crowd.

The song Dakota was first written in Paris. I was doing a promo trip. It was snowing and the hotel room was really cold and boring and for some reason I just had a go of the guitar and the song came pretty quick.

The press will naturally come and go as it has done with all artists, from David Bowie to Neil Young to U2.