I was born in the rural serenity of Winchester and raised by wolves in a meadow among the blue bells. (Well the Winchester bit is true.) I must have been about six when I moved with my family from Winchester to Totnes, South Devon where I spent the rest of my childhood. I was pretty young when I started having piano lessons and singing in a choir. I even started to learn the violin. I had one lesson. It was disastrous. I am left-handed and they made me play right-handed (I could have been a contender!)

The secondary school I went to was very different from most. It was an alternative, progressive school called Sands. I started there when the school had just opened. I think there were about 25 pupils. In the beginning we had lessons at one of the children's parents houses and we used to go to another parents house for lunch where they had a drum kit that I would play with chopsticks at lunch times.

I started playing the drums in jam sessions at school. No one ever wanted to be the singer it was too embarrassing. Being a natural show off and a clown I grabbed the mike and started crooning an Elvis impersonation. From then on I took to the idea of singing in a band.