The people I admire are Tim Buckley and John Martyn - singers that grew into themselves and were honest. John Martyn is one of the great soul singers because soul is not a genre; it's a feeling.
— Paolo Nutini
I learned to sing from my mum and dad's record collection.
I was lucky to move around different cultures at an early age and have experience of different lifestyles.
The first record I was really into was the Drifters' 'When My Little Girl Is Smiling.'
My inspiration for songs is just everyday life. I just write down words about things that have happened to me, people I've met.
That's the good thing about music: you can sing about people's lives in its stages and feelings. Some songs can put something in context that you couldn't. They can free your mind or can make you think or can be redeeming.
As I'm getting older, I work out what I want and what I need. And I just need to go home and see the people I love and write.
I've always got a notepad on or a voice recorder recording ideas.
One of my favourite songs is 'A Message to You, Rudy,' which was done by the Specials.
With the first album, there was a lot of angst. I was very naive. I thought I was on top of the whole thing, but I really didn't know what I was getting into.
I'm in the highest bracket. There's no way that a 22-year-old should be hit for that amount of money when he's got his whole life ahead of him.
I left school just shy of 17: I'd started going into touring and that situation.
I only became interested in clothes when I was in my mid-teens. I'd do things like spike my hair and put on a nice shirt, but I'd hardly call myself fashion-conscious. I just don't have the energy.
When it comes to the business side of it, as much as you might hate it, the reality is that you give the record company a sort of ownership of your songs, so you've got to make sure you're getting everything you can out of it now, because if you're not, then who is?
I'm neither here nor there about this Lady Gaga, but she's clearly very passionate about her poker face.
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.
Charts and learning the politics behind making a record - it's pretty soulless.
I don't mind being criticised, but hearing yourself described as the next James Blunt - that hurts.
I've never had anything as formal as vocal lessons.
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.
I can't speak much Italian. I do go down well over there, but it's frustrating because I can't really speak it. Even if I do talk, they can't understand my accent, but I should try to learn it.
Just remember that if you've lost something, you will be open to something else.
I know some bands that are precious about their new ideas. They're conscious of the fact that people can - even from mobile phones - begin to get clearer and better recordings of the songs... so they're a lot more hesitant to play them.
I like to record something pretty much as soon as I have an idea for a song, but I'm on so many buses, I have to record on my mobile.
I get nervous all the time. Both on and off stage. You just hope it turns into adrenaline.
A lot of places think that bigger is better. It's like consumerism is taking everything over.
I think it was definitely a love for the four- or five-part vocal male harmony groups that really took me away. I'd always try and be, like, the fifth Drifter; I'd always try and find another harmony that wasn't there.
Sometimes when you get frustrated, your back is against the wall, and you come out fighting and knock out three songs in as many days.
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.
I'm not a fan of second-hand or vintage clothes.
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.
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.
Maybe it's the way that I do music, but I was never in a cool indie band or hung out with all the cool arty kids when I came to London.
My father was very encouraging.
As a kid, I loved to sing along to the Drifters and Otis Redding.
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.
I just want people to leave a show and go, 'That was the most rockin' show I've ever seen.' I hope people can just roll with me a little bit - you know?
'Astral Weeks' is a brilliant album, and songs like 'Moondance' are just beautiful lyrically.
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.
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.
I write on the acoustic guitar, I write some on the piano, but I've been messing around with these guitar pedals and drum machines, educating myself in that world.
If you're going to call yourself a musician, you have to go out and make music.
When I've got time off, my feet get itchy really quickly.
It's a sacred thing, but I do want to get married. I'd love that.
I am not steeped in all that angst. I'm never going to be Sid Vicious.
One of my ambitions is to move to Tuscany. I like the idea of getting a vineyard. I love being under the sun and being casual and comfortable. That's my idea of heaven.
Touring can be really tiring. I can get homesick, and I spend a lot of time on my phone.
Love is music, and music is home.
When you open your mind up, and you go into a creative state, you can't just switch if off. When you have an idea, a creative impulse, and then you ignore it, it can keep you up when you just want to go to your bed - which is why it's great to have voice recorders on your phone!
I've met such amazing people in their 40s, in their 60s, 70s, and they completely bely their age on paper.
