Quotes from Paolo Nutini

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.

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.

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.

I don't know if I've got the capacity for all of the creativity that I want to put out there, which is annoying and frustrating - it's kinda like torture.

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.

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.

My inspiration for songs is just everyday life. I just write down words about things that have happened to me, people I've met.

I left school just shy of 17: I'd started going into touring and that situation.

Touring can be really tiring. I can get homesick, and I spend a lot of time on my phone.

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.

I like to indulge all the facets of my personality. There's none that I don't think, in a way, I would want to take away from.

I learned to sing from my mum and dad's record collection.

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.

I don't mind being criticised, but hearing yourself described as the next James Blunt - that hurts.

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.

The first record I was really into was the Drifters' 'When My Little Girl Is Smiling.'

I'm not one to go down that road to say I have some kind of social consciousness.

To sing with Led Zeppelin has allowed me to offer the best places I could afford to my family and friends!

I get nervous all the time. Both on and off stage. You just hope it turns into adrenaline.

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.

My songwriting... it's almost like a kind of self-therapy.

Charts and learning the politics behind making a record - it's pretty soulless.

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.

Some people have just got a capacity for creativity that's unbelievable!