When you have these moments where a song connects with people and creates a conversation, it's quite a humbling experience because it's like, 'Maybe there is a little bit more weight to this job than I thought there ever was before.' Which was wonderful that that happened with 'Dead Boys.'
My mam and dad were blasting Steely Dan when I was born; the music hasn't stopped since then.
My brother was a drummer, and he was always, like, smashing the kit around when I was a kid, and my dad was, like, one of them old musicians, and he played in, like, loads of different bands in the '70s and '80s. Him and my brother were kind of like my main inspirations.
I've chronicled a time when I was 17, 18, utterly terrified that you're not gonna get anywhere with whatever you want to do. It's that fear and claustrophobia that I think comes to most people living in small towns. But I am lucky, because I just knew that music was my thing.
I try my best not to be preachy.
I'm so grateful to everyone back home for believing, and to my band and team for all their hard work.
I remember specifically, for me, as a kid growing up or as a young teenager, if I ever cried or got upset in front of anybody, I would be so humiliated.
I never want to co-write. People never just write a quarter of a book, do they? I don't think you can get your story across.
Musicians - we're not doctors. We're not saving people's lives. We're not going out and changing the world. We're not coming up with cancer cures. We're not any of that. They're the real heroes of the world.
The thing about Springsteen, his music, although he's writing about, you know, New Jersey and Asbury Park, all of them places, it's blue-collar towns that, like - it's similar to Newcastle, where I'm from.
'Poundshop Kardashians' is Newcastle on a Saturday night. Nobody wears coats - it's all muscles and V-necks and fake tan.
My favourite writers are always great storytellers, like Bruce Springsteen; I adore Bruce Springsteen. I feel like he doesn't beat around the bush, and he doesn't overcomplicate things. He puts things into layman's terms and tells stories that anyone can understand.
I like to write about stories and life experiences of me, the people around us, and just the things I see on the telly without overcomplicating things.
I'm not like a university-educated scholar. I just sing what I see.
I don't trust songs that can be played at a kid's party and a club at the same time. I just don't think it's right. There's something reptilian about that.
I think honesty is an important thing when writing a song. If you can't sing it with conviction, then no-one else is going to believe it.
I love my hometown, but 'Leave Fast' is the way I felt when I was 17, 18 - it's that fear that I'd never be able to do something else.
It's so surreal for us to be playing at Tynemouth Castle. It couldn't be much closer to home. I've got so many mad stories of us all running around here as kids, and it's mental that we're going to be playing at an actual castle!
Music was always ever present when I was growing up, and it's continued to be the most important and intrinsic part of me. It kept me from going off the rails as a kid, and it gave me rare purpose and self-confidence that I couldn't find from anything else.
There are a lot of challenges we are facing, like how you are supposed to react to emotional stress.
