Quotes from Lewis Capaldi

A lot of people say that 'the best songs fall into your lap' and that they're the easiest ones to write and take the shortest amount of time: I wholeheartedly disagree with that.

The first artist whose music I really got into was Paolo Nutini. When his album 'Sunny Side Up' came out, I think I listened to it on repeat for, like, six months.

I started off playing my own songs, just because I saw it as a means to an end almost of, 'Right, if you want to play gigs, you have to write your own songs.' I mean, they were absolutely terrible.

Even if 'Bruises' had done a fraction of what it did, I would have thought that was class.

I think the first thing you release should come from you. If you want your first piece to be exactly how you want it to be, and how you see it, you should release it yourself.

I had gigged so much from the age of 11 to 20 that I got to a stage where I actually got less nervous the bigger the gig. But you need those butterflies: they make you feel alive.

I used to do covers gigs that would be 90 minutes, with a 30 minute break, then another 90.

I was born in Glasgow and brought up in a place in between Glasgow and Edinburgh called West Lothian!

It's when I'm playing a headline show I feel weird, 'cause I don't know how to react to people coming out to see me.

The first time I played in front of a live audience, I realised I wanted to be a musician. I was about four years old and had always liked music.

I played a lot of pubs, and some were a bit rougher than others, but once you got on, it was the same reception everywhere.

In hindsight, I think my manager and I both knew that 'Someone You Loved' was a special song that we had to put out. But no one was expecting it to do so well.

I had never released any music until 'Bruises' came out when I was 20.

I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. I'm just writing songs that I like, and that's where I've always come from.

I tweeted that I wanted Little Mix's 'Touch' played at my funeral - I think that'd be a great song to send me into the abyss.

I get lots of requests from people to write sad songs, and I'm like, 'No, that's rubbish patter.'

I don't blame people or 'pop stars' or whatever for being so quiet, but you can't take it too seriously, especially on social media. It's a very hard thing to be yourself, especially when people are watching, so I don't blame them for being a bit reserved.

Having lots of human interaction online and during shows is very important to me.

I think soul singers are much better singers than I am.

I remember hearing people like Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac, and Elvis. My parents were big fans of them, and they were the early seeds. My brother was more into Slipknot, and I still listen to them, too, but it wasn't until I listened to Paolo Nutini that it really clicked.

I have been gigging around Glasgow and Edinburgh since I was 12. I played in pubs at that age, even though I obviously was too young to be in them. So I used to hide in bathrooms, come out and play my set, then get the hell out as quickly as possible.

Doing a festival in Hong Kong was special, looking out and seeing this massive crowd and the city.

Trust me, I do not have an online strategy.

I think my best songs come from me sitting at a piano, bashing my head against a brick wall for hours and hours on end to get one good melody.