I think drama school really teaches you how to annunciate; you're conscious that people might not understand you if you speak too fast and too Welsh.

I walked past Noel Gallagher on the street once and everyone was like, "Go speak to him! He's one of your heroes!" I thought I'd leave him. I don't know what I'd say to him.

When you write a song, there's no point keeping it to yourself.

I’m still secretly a bit of a punk. Love The Clash and a bit of the Pistols. I guess as I’ve got older I’ve chilled out a bit. But, my teenage angst is still stirring somewhere!

The music is mine. Theres nothing to hide behind. Thats where you see the real person.

It's a weird thing with accents. When I go home it gets a lot stronger, when I've had a few beers it gets a lot stronger.

When you're doing the same scene over and over, all day long, you need to keep your levels up for your own performance and for the other actors.

I was a huge Radiohead fan growing up.

I just want my music to be put out there, not shoved in peoples faces. I want to keep it relaxed.

I have no ambitions to be a pop star.

There was so much great music around in the 60s, stuff like The Small Faces, but I also love The Jam.

With good parody, you have to be smarter that the people you’re parodying.

There are two kinds of travel: first class and with children.

Before comparing yourself or your life to others, take a good look at your fingers.

Innovation! One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create classics

It shows a mediocre architect at the top of his game [on the Beetham Tower in Manchester]

Take risks: if you win you will be happy if you lose you will be wise.

Honestly, there was a time after I came out that I really did not think I would be working again.

I could see my face, crying, in her blank eye.

Play the picture in your mind - focus on the end result.

I think I would have written five times as much as I've written if I didn't have this terrible sense of perfection.