“I am inspired by show girls and Vegas. I was a cabaret performer, so that’s where all that influence comes from.”

I wasn’t really comfortable reading until I was 12.

When I do my shows, it’s really cross-generational. Sometimes there’s three generations there.

I just really want to make albums – and however I can, I will.

I’d say that, first and foremost, I’m a performer; I started performing when I was four years old, and being on stage from a young age set me up.

Curvy is something to be proud of.

It’s tragic that you can define a whole movement in music by gender alone. People are like, ‘Oh, look, another quirky girl.’

I really hate bureaucracy and the idea that I’m not a free person.

I think soul is soul. I don’t see new soul as any different to old soul.

I agree with cosmetic surgery for medical reasons – my mother had breast cancer and I think it’s very sad when somebody has no choice in what happens to their body.

I dread the idea of a paparazzi snapping me while I’m out running.

It’s celebrated in British culture to be eccentric.

Sometimes people fear the truth. They’d rather not speak to you than know what you really think.

I love going to the cinema. Whenever I get time off, that’s where I go.

There’s nothing wrong with a thick eyebrow; Frida Kahlo had them.

I’m under no illusion that there are things about me that I’d like to change. I just accept who I am, and I’m proud of it.

All creative people have to have vulnerability because those nuances are what move people. So I’m deeply insecure – but I’m good at hiding it.

I shall use such influence as I have in emphasizing the basic truths common to all denominations, in lowering denominational barriers and in promoting effective cooperation among Christians of whatever creed.

Kind words and good deeds are eternal. You never know where their influence will end.

Remember that everyone is influenced by kindness.

I always wanted my music to influence the life you were living emotionally – with your family, your lover, your wife, and, at a certain point, with your children.

Begin with art, because art tries to take us outside ourselves. It is a matter of trying to create an atmosphere and context so conversation can flow back and forth and we can be influenced by each other.

But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.

Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.

If you’re influencing people, I think you should consider life is too precious to have them chasing the wrong things. Don’t give them jewelry, give them jewels.