Quotes

(On her unusual name) "To be called one thing and christened another is actually very confusing and annoying. It's one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me. I'm still irritated by it. Florian is a German man's name. That's just mean. To give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing."

It feels like someone's rushed in and taken all your clothes off. - on hearing her songs played in public

I would not have had the opportunity to achieve what I have done without the encouragement of excellent teachers. Every child must have the opportunity to write songs and learn an instrument.

It is much more satisfying to write your own songs. Otherwise you are only as good as the next batch of songwriters. You have to put in the hours too. I did eight tours of the US, playing as many gigs as possible before I was a hit here. As well as being much more satisfying, writing your own songs gives you a better chance of having a longterm career.

Playing the recorder and taking music lessons was a great escape and helped open up my mind as a child.

It can be just playing two chords and making up lyrics about what you did that day or putting forward a point of view. That's how I started. It's fun and we ought to get children writing. I don't make political comments but I do want the Government to put music right at the top of the cirriculum. Having that option was vital for me.

[What were you like at school?] I was always in trouble for smoking and drinking and generally leading people astray.