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Racism is one of the worst forms of torture because it's directed at something you never asked for and something you can't change.
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To be honest, the first time round, I didn't think 'Fame Academy' was the worst premise in the world. You got people on, and they would write songs and develop themselves as artists. But then, instead of getting a little bit more credible, it got a little bit more ridiculous.
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If you're going to call yourself a musician, you have to go out and make music.
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It's not about someone making a difference on their own; it's about everybody pulling together to make a difference.
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I don't want to slip into Johnny Borrell mode. I don't want to be singing that there's nothing on TV, nothing on the radio.
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Music is probably one of the most honest things out there - it's feral.
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Sometimes it's good to just sing and let the words come out. Whatever comes out is valid because it's what you were thinking.
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I'm always looking for people to play the songs to.
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You've got to make sure that you don't have an airbrushed picture making you look like a 15-year-old cherub when your lyrics suggest otherwise.
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I thought about going onto the first one, Pop Idol. My mum was saying, 'Go on!' But I decided not to. 'The X Factor,' though, doesn't really seem to be a show about musical talent anymore.
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My best mates when I was 19 were all in their 30s. I used to go to all their house parties, and they were crazier than the guys who were 17, 18. They were so much more liberated than the people who were apparently shackle-free.
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You don't want to go and make something, then go out and do shows, if you're not really into it. You don't want to go out there and make people feel like you're grudging playing them a song. That's a disturbing thought.
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My inspiration for songs is just everyday life. I just write down words about things that have happened to me, people I've met.
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The first time I did everything was in Paisley - the first time I went to the pictures or the bowling or the ice rink or the swimming baths.
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Sometimes people don't know what is behind the words they use. But an innocent little remark at school can affect you later in life.
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My father was very encouraging.
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Music is a good way to channel your fragile, vulnerable, needy side, but it's also something to rejoice in.
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I learned to sing from my mum and dad's record collection.
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I remember I wanted to be Zorro, but I also wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. I obviously had ideas above my station.
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The songs are just an attempt to document what's been happening in my life. If people can relate to what's going on with me, then that's great.
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People make you feel like a bad guy for asking for seven quid for your album, like you are slapping them in the face, when they'll go and pay two grand for a scarf somebody knitted in a sweat shop and stitched a designer label on.
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To sing with Led Zeppelin has allowed me to offer the best places I could afford to my family and friends!
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I've met such amazing people in their 40s, in their 60s, 70s, and they completely bely their age on paper.
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Whatever I do, I like to be the one doing it. I don't just like to get someone in to run it and put a name to it.