I feel like when I'm writing for other people, when I'm doing rap hooks, it's kinda like playing dress up for me...

People have this idea of me being some kind of monster, and that's the complete opposite of who I am.

In the past members of my family on both my mother's and father's side have fought in the war, in the first and second World Wars. Unfortunately, they're dead and I wasn't able to speak to them, but that was in our family history too.

Making me into a role model is placing too much importance on what I see as a work in progress.

People like Howlin' Wolf, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Captain Beefheart - all of these artists were what I grew up listening to every day of my life. And there's a very healthy music scene in the west country of England, where I grew up.

I enjoy looking like a tart and thinking like a politician.

The craft, the writing of a song, is about creating a story, a life story, a world within three minutes, but that's the frame, if you like, the picture frame. That fascinates me.