Getting married, for me, was the best thing I ever did. I was suddenly beset with an immense sense of release, that we have something more important than our separate selves, and that is the marriage. There's immense happiness that can come from working towards that.

The secret to longevity in the music business is to change, and to be able to change. [...] An actor has to assume other people's identities. A rock star doesn't need to do that. [...] But change is important.

I've always hated narrative songs. I hate those songs where, basically, it's an unfolding of a story.

I write songs in batches and then record them and then can't write again for ages. I try and build one song upon another, they may not obviously look inter-related but often one song acts as a springboard into another.

I want to write songs that are so sad, the kind of sad where you take someone's little finger and break it in three places.

I'm not a misogynist, so you can dispense with that. I think I've done wonders for the feminist movement.

I write hate lyrics really well. It's not every day you can use them, really.