I honestly don't class myself as a songwriter. I've got 'musician' written on my passport. That's even funnier.

The further I get from the things that I care about, the less I care about how much further away I get.

I'm not a morose person; it's just that my best songs reflect on the sadder aspects of life.

I could write songs as bad as Wham's if I really felt the urge to, but what's the point?

It has always seemed slightly uncomfortable, the idea of politicised musicians. Very few of them are clever enough to do it; if they're good at the political side, the music side suffers, and vice versa.

The idea of reinvention has always seemed bizarre to me.

When you're in a young band for the first time, geographically you're in the same place and you tend to go out and socialize. You play more shows, you spend more time together. You're a unit. As you grow older, inevitably you develop a life outside the band. I think it would be tragic if you didn't.