What was the first album you ever owned on vinyl?

Ah that is a good question, my mam and dad had loads of vinyl in the house growing up, but it was at the time when it was going out of style so when I eventually got my own record player I was given a load of old records. The first one I think I played was probably Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel. I also remember listening to Rumours for the first time and eventually realising why The Chain was where it was in the tracklisting!!!! I’d only heard it on CD so that was like riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, now I understand. Hahaha.

What have you been listening to lately?

Hmmm we are in lockdown with three small children so other than the news and a lot of “Happy Playlists” on the internet not much, I watched a series on BBC recently called “Normal People” which as well as being cracking has a quality soundtrack, so I’ve been trying to find songs off that. The music on DEVS is also great too.

Where is your favorite place in the world and why?

Ah that is so dependent on mood… so many places are lovely… and it is hard to judge a place without the people…at the minute I’d say the North East of England where I come from – I live elsewhere in the UK and haven’t been “home” this year, largely because of the current situation – it’s the longest period in my life that I haven’t seen my parents or walked the coastline, been on those familiar roads… so I’m missing it a lot at the minute.

What is the best live show you’ve seen, and why was it the best?

Erm… I remember loving gigs a lot more before I was a musician.. because you are always looking for tips and tricks, assessing and comparing.. it is tough. When I was 17 I saw a band called the.embassy back in Newcastle – they were awesome – great songs, great players – that always sticks with me. Another band from England called Everything Everything – the first time I saw them was a fantastic experience, the amount of ideas and ambition (but without any arrogance, just expression!).

What are some things you have to have on the road with you?

Errrrrrr… trainers so I can run, honey for my voice, clean clothes…., other people…

What is the craziest thing that’s happened to you on the road?

I often lose my passport… the first time we toured the US I left my bag in a hot dog shop (shout out to Biker Jim’s) in Denver but didn’t realise until we had driven for five hours.. we couldn’t go back so we got them to send my bag and passport (which they’d found) to San Francisco. We picked it up (phew) and then did our last gig before flying to LA to get a connection to London. We got the airport and me and the drummer went for a beer but I didn’t have any ID because I remembered I left my passport on the plane which had now flown to Houston!!!… the rest of the band flew home and I had to get to Houston to get my passport back  – I only had my UK driving licence but somehow the security let me fly to Houston to get my passport and then I flew home from there… we were in the middle of a house move back home and my son had just turned 1 so my partner was not best pleased. I have previously lost my passport in the woods the day before a gig in France which resulted in a 2am trip to the woods to find it… but that’s another story.

Who or what influences your music?

Accidents, incidents, hints and allegations.

What album do you play on repeat, and what do you love about it?

Loads…. Rumours, Grace, Bookends, Laughing Stock.. it changes..

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

It’d hard because all of the people we like we’d probably just make their music worse by getting involved haha… so not anyone good. Maybe someone we think needs a lot of HELP and GUIDANCE… like Robin Thicke… I think I could probably help Elton John with his diction.