My dad was one of the reasons I kept Simply Red going so long. I was brought up to stick at things. I was the only songwriter in Simply Red, so I could have toured under my own banner. But I'd developed the name, so I stuck with it.

I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it. I didn't ever want to be anything else. I just started banging away and semi-studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music but sort of half-heartedly.

Everyone that was over 13 was my parent. Diana [Ross] was my momma. The Marvelettes were all my parents, The Contours... 'You can't have a candy bar now, you gotta study now, do this now.

Something like Bohemian Rhapsody didn't just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research, although it was tongue-in-cheek and it was mock-opera. Why not? I certainly wasn't saying I was an opera fanatic and I knew everything about it.

As far as songwriting, my inspirations came from love, life and death, and viewing other people's situations.

Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.