Quotes

[asked about his favourite place in the world] I love being at home in London, I live near Victoria Park and I have a little dog called Bobby; we walk round the park together and it's just so beautiful this time of year. It's just the most incredible city, there's such a diverse culture. East London in particular, there's so much art round here and so many different types of people. I feel very lucky to live here.

[on which song or album could be the soundtrack of his life] Without sounding too cheesy, I guess that's what I've been doing with my own music. There's definitely an autobiographical side to it.

[on which four people, living or dead, he would invite to the ultimate dinner party and what he would serve] I can't really cook but I can make one thing, it's a pasta dish with prawns, linguine and some garlic and chilli. I call it the "Odelicious", so that's what I'd serve. In terms of guests, I think right now it would be good to get some of the dividing opinions from around the world together, so maybe it'd be good to have Trump and Corbyn - I don't think we'd have Theresa May 'cos I think she'd be pretty dull. Maybe the leader of North Korea and maybe to lighten things up...Putin? But that's quite dictator heavy, so maybe I'd invite my mate Henry too.

[The title of my autobiography would be] The Visitor. I've always felt like the outsider, it's part of being a songwriter. You're always staring through the frosty window rather than being in the bar. I'm much more of an observer. A lot of people my age and a bit earlier in their Twenties have this desire to go and be a part of something and I guess I never really felt that way. I've always felt like I've been a visitor or a tourist to places.

[on the most treasured item in his wardrobe] I really despise shopping, I do it like once a year or once every two years but one thing I do have quite a collection of is shoes. I'm quite into very well-made boots. In this very transient consumer age where you buy something that only lasts six months, I like the process of going to the old cobblers down the road and getting them re-soled. There's a great cobbler near where I live in East London.

[his favourite quote of all time] "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" - On The Road by Jack Kerouac.

[if he could raid anyone's wardrobe, who it would be] Helen Mirren? Erm... I'm not sure. I'm never really up to date on the notable males. I'm very into tailors, there's a guy in Kentish Town who makes all my suits for me and he's been there for 40 or 50 years, his name's Chris Rocco and he's very into that old school tailoring, he's a true gent. I'll wear anything that he makes because he's so brilliant.

[on his guiltiest pleasure] I smoke... I'm smoking right now. I very much enjoy it but I'm also very aware of the damage it's doing to my body. I wish that I didn't. A lot of musicians smoke because of the conditions we work in, it's nice to be able to go outside and have a cigarette. The embarrassing thing is that I only started smoking when I began touring, when I was a teenager I used to think it was disgusting so I don't know how I started. I don't even remember starting.

[on who would play him in the film biopic of his life] Helen Mirren. We have a very similar haircut.

[the one thing he wishes he could tell his 16-year-old self] Everything's going to be fine. When I was a teenager, I didn't really know anyone that did the job that I do, so it all felt very unobtainable. A lot of the time I would do songwriting but it was almost just a dream in my head, so I think I'd tell myself that it can be a reality. I'd also tell myself to get a slightly better hair cut, I'd probably say that to my 23-year-old self too.

[on what is his party trick] I'm quite good at opening bottles with my teeth, my dentist wouldn't be very happy about that.

[asked which three films he thinks he could watch over and over again] I'm currently sat in my living room looking at posters on the wall of two films. Harold and Maude is a really stunning film and Cat Stevens does the soundtrack. Then there's another film which my girlfriend introduced me to called Betty Blue, it's a French film and it's got Béatrice Dalle in it and it's stunning, a very sad but very romantic film. I recommend everyone watch it, it's incredible. Some of my videos from The Wrong Crowd album were inspired by it. In terms of modern films, I'd say La Grande Bellezza which is an Italian film by Paolo Sorrentino; it's just a beautifully shot piece of cinema. I'm very into films. I could list 20 that I could watch over and over again.

[on which artists have influenced him the most] So many. The ones I keep coming back to are the lyrical singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Jackson Browne: when music was very much about soul, when it was about the craft of songwriting. It was almost storytelling. Nick Cave is a huge inspiration to me as well. I've always believed that there should be so much more to songs than being catchy and being on the radio. My favourite songs are the ones where you discover something new each time you listen to them, even after the 35th listen, there's a depth to them that you keep discovering, like a great painting or movie. It's such a challenging art form to make, but that's what makes it so compelling. What I love about pop music is how universal it is and how a great pop song can be inclusive of everybody.

[on what book he is currently reading] Rabbit Run by John Updike. I read it once before when I was a lot younger, it's about a very brilliant sports star who just sort of gets up and leaves his family. It's very gritty, it's somewhere between John Steinbeck and Charles Bukowski.