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I could write songs about politics, but I'm conscious of not writing songs that sound the same as the ones I wrote 30 years ago.

I don't think I ever write songs involving politics, because they get dated way too quick. Any view you have can usually be made into something more general, and that can stand throughout time.

I do write songs with a political dimension to them sometimes, but I'm always slightly appalled by it when I do.

I don't think I'm a political songwriter as much as I am just a political person. I think it's in my fabric.

I've never done anything so political before. I've spent years shouting my mouth off about serious issues over dinner tables but never really had the confidence to express my views in a song.

To me, a political song is also a personal song. Most political activism has been driven by empathy for other people and the desire for a world that's less divisive. Even if songs aren't overtly political, they can make a listener more empathetic.

I didn't have a lot of overtly political songs. I think it was more the actions of the group that were threatening to the authorities, and also our political philosophies apart from the music.

My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter.