I don't really have the gift of the sustained narrative that you need to write a book. I've tried a couple of times, and it just doesn't work. But I get some good passages, so what I'm going to do is just take sections out of them.

When I first started listening to music intently as a teenager, I was always sitting there with a biro or a pencil, drawing. That's how I absorbed it all.

I could never be a professional comedian, 'cause you have to keep telling the same jokes. For me, they're like word solos.

One of the ideas behind doing this acoustic record is that I didn't want to have to produce it by committee.

Let there be more darkness

If you make money back from your record, you're doing it smart. It's an expensive hobby. I'm lucky enough to still make a living as a musician through live work and odd bits of royalties.

After the Soft Boys I just didn't want to work with any more guitarists.