So often, the singer is the sound of the record. People think they can cover anything, but the whole voice is the thing that's unrepeatable.

People always go on about sleaze, but I think it's only a small part of what I write about.

I was very much a mess, as a person. I'd come from a very turbulent teenage life, with parents who had broken up in a very bad way, and a lot of illness at school.

A lot of youth today have become very narrow and conservative in a way, whereas we in the older generation are kind of living it.

On my Instagram, I'm always keeping a record of things being pulled down in Soho and shutters being closed. Every city - and London more than anywhere - has got to be a vibrant mix of all different things. We can't allow it to become a monoculture.

I can't read music and I'm crap at learning lyrics. Especially since the accident I have memory problems. I can't remember words, names, places.

What was great about the 80s was that you still had record companies who would get behind developing you as an artist. You had these bonkers heads of department and A&R people who, even after a flop album, would let you make another one.