But with writers, there's nothing wrong with melancholy. It's an important color in writing.

Songs have some kind of structure that connects with people`s hearts.

Where I come from, you don't really talk about how much you're earning. Those things are private. My dad never told my mum how much he was earning. I'm certainly not going to tell the world. I'm doing well.

I like most kinds of music. So I haven't got a bag, as they say... except the big black one in the hall outside.

It's not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that's your pool of resources. If you were to write something now, I bet there's a pretty good chance you'd call on your teenage years, your experiences then, stuff you learned then.

When you get the money, you still need to keep going; you don't stop. There has to be something else. I think it's the freedom to do what you want and to live your dreams.

I did study Shakespeare, that was sort of my thing; I got a Literature A-level, which is my only claim to academic fame.