Quotes from Oliver Sim

You see bands putting ads in the paper: 'drummer wanted'. I could never be in a set-up like that.

I've never felt any huge intrusions into my personal life.

Beyonce is very special. I think the super-pop thing that supposedly died with Michael Jackson is still there with her.

As cliched as it sounds, I'm taking every day as it comes.

My own personal goal is I just hope to still write songs and kind of let that sustain me as a job. If I could never have a 9-to-5 job, and making a living doing this, it'd just be incredible.

In our school, there were lots of bands putting up posters saying 'Come to our gigs'.

I don't know what I was expecting or what I was dreaming about the xx accomplishing.

I feel more confident and like I have more to say. I feel like I'm working more than ever, not just from fantasy, but actual experience. I'm an adult now - I actually have experience.

When I finished school, I didn't continue to go to university, because I decided I wanted to do music.

The day that you walk out in front of 30,000 people and don't get nervous is probably the day to give it up. It's inspiring to be a little terrified.

To perform in front of a room full of people you go to school with would be terrifying. I couldn't do it now.

The xx do not condone guns!

When you write songs for your best friends and maybe two other people to hear, and then realize that a million other people are going to hear them, it can be a bit worrying. You get concerned about what you might reveal.

My writing has changed a lot. From 16 to 19, I've changed a lot. My kind of writing in the beginning was very observational; now it's grown very personal for me. I use it as a diary in many ways.

'Coexist' was tough to make.

I don't find touring very creative. There's not much time to yourself with your instruments.

I remember reading an interview with Adele, where she said that touring was the loneliest thing in the world. All of her band are hired, so, really, it's just her. I can't imagine what that must be like.

I don't think it's good for people to know too much about you. With my favourite bands, I don't want to have the inside track on every single aspect of their personal lives.

I believe with a lot of support shows, people are very much there to see the headliner. You don't necessarily have their full attention, and some of what we do requires a lot of silence.

The darkness of clubs makes me feel much more secure, and you can hide behind smoke and lights.

I can't even imagine how it must be to be a solo artist playing with session musicians.

In the studio, there's no tiptoeing. As opposed to big, blow-out arguments, there are just lots of little solutions.

Not to flatter myself, but I know that you can influence people's opinion as a musician, and I don't want to.

I was living with my dad, and I loved it. But I could totally imagine that if I didn't move out quickly, I would end up staying there well into my 30s.