The Face, 1997

• On life before rejoining the Verve in 1997...

             "I was a total emotional wreck. It got to the point that all I had in
common with the rest of them was the music. My home life was a disaster and I didn't feel comfortable anywhere. Even when I went back to Wigan, I stayed in my room all the time. My mum was telling me I was psychotic and I needed help from the doctor. She'd be shouting 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' Then she'd go out and I'd be throwing chairs around, smashing things up. It hit me how fucked up I was. All I could do was blather emotional bollocks."
"I think I made a prick out of myself, really."

• On life in Wigan outside the Verve, in which he worked on doodly techno and electronica and taking care of his daughter Ellie:

            "I thought, yeah, this could be my life now. Just sign on, relax,
not worry. It did eat me up a bit about the band, especially when they
got Simon Tong in, but then I got so burnt up that I just decided to
forget about them. I thought it was all over. It was like my family had
collapsed, but I was big enough to cope with it now."

• On the day Richard called him up to rejoin the band:

            "I told him,'I ought to tell you to fuck off but I'm glad to hear from
you. It's good now, you know. They asked me back, so they can't complain.
I get to do what the fuck I want now".