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At home and in church - which I didn't go to a lot, I was very rebellious, but my family was strict Christians - they would ask us, 'What's the shortest verse in the Bible?' and I was the one who always said 'John 11:35' straightaway. It stayed with me: the Bible has stayed with me.
Benjamin Clementine -
I adopted this feeling that the stage is my home, so just keep my coat on and not wear anything else.
Benjamin Clementine
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Personally, I wouldn't mind going on stage naked, totally naked.
Benjamin Clementine -
I grew up as a man because I was by myself.
Benjamin Clementine -
In Paris, I was really singing for the sake of living. But eventually people said, 'Keep going; you've got a great voice,' and I started having confidence in my voice all of a sudden. That's when I started creating my own music.
Benjamin Clementine -
I don't have a flat anywhere. I'm registered in the U.K. for tax purposes, I suppose, and my mail goes to my parents.
Benjamin Clementine -
I accept the fact that angels are great heavenly beings, and I think some people give me the feeling that I'm with an angel.
Benjamin Clementine -
I got into a lot of trouble. Maybe that's why my parents didn't really like me and I didn't blend in with my family. I was always the naughty one.
Benjamin Clementine
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The minute I stop singing, I'm back to being shy. I'm soft-spoken because I never really talked to people. I didn't learn to do it.
Benjamin Clementine -
I found it quite pleasing to be alone from a very young age. The piano became my source of release.
Benjamin Clementine -
The fact is, it wasn't enjoyable being in secondary school. I was a weird kid.
Benjamin Clementine -
I'm actually doing what I like doing, which is mixing opera music and classical music with soul and folk. And I was writing and talking about what I've actually experienced, and I don't think that's very common.
Benjamin Clementine -
I always try to be as discreet as possible, so I wear black.
Benjamin Clementine -
When I first started singing in Paris, I sounded horrible: I was just singing to get some money to eat. And I wasn't singing my own songs: it was Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Eventually, when I wrote my own music, my style just came out of my own place.
Benjamin Clementine
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Honestly, I still don't know a lot of artists, and I want to keep it that way for a while. I think that's why I might be quite original.
Benjamin Clementine -
I didn't blend well with my classmates or my teachers.
Benjamin Clementine -
When I think about Edmonton, Silver Street and Pymmes Park, the old people whose faces are so unhappy, it pushes me to be better. I want to be better to help places like this.
Benjamin Clementine -
Sometimes it feels like my story overshadows my music.
Benjamin Clementine -
Paris is very dear to me, and I'll never forget Paris.
Benjamin Clementine -
I was on the train; I did play, but I also played in bars, in the streets, at birthday parties for people who discovered me on the train.
Benjamin Clementine
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Arizona - I've only spent a few days there, but it's inspired me the most. It's so peaceful.
Benjamin Clementine -
I'm a very honest person, and I'm quite emotional for a man. If I want to say something, I'll say it.
Benjamin Clementine -
My heroes: Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Nina Simone.
Benjamin Clementine -
I started writing music in a French way: more focused on lyrics than melody.
Benjamin Clementine