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I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck.

I could never change the overall feel of my music. That's why people like me - I don't follow trends, and I don't follow crowds.

When it's time to make music, that's about getting lost for me. To be a control freak is not half as good as being a freak who's casually in control. You're feeling around in the dark for something that feels good.

The first sign of real obsession with music was with an old wind-up gramophone that mum had thrown out into the garage. My parents gave me three old 45s - two Supremes records and one Tom Jones record - and I used to come home from school literally every day, go out to the garage, wind this thing up, and play them.

I think for us up-and-coming artists, once you're out there, once you've put stuff up, once people know who you are, once you discover who you are, we're all in the same boat: it's down to whether people appreciate the music or not.

Every album, I'm worried that I'm a dork and a fraud - 'What if I can't sing anymore?' Then I stop thinking and start playing guitar, and I realize that it's okay to suck, and move forward.

I do think there are trends in your life once you've been auditioning long enough. I was the angry teenager and then the sweet victim.

I'm not much of a musical-goer; they don't really appeal to me.

I don't really have control over my direct impression on people anymore. I used to be the person putting my CD in people's hands. But I'm kind of a mainstream artist now. Not by choice.