Your chief characteristic
“I’m tall”

Your idea of happiness
“Blondie, live at Barbarella’s, February 28th 1978.”

Your favourite virtue
“Perfectionism.”

Your biggest flaw
“Forgetting to look on the bright side.”

What was your worst ever job, and why?
“I spent one Summer working on a farm, painting a white fence whiter. It just didn’t seem like fun.”

What would be your favourite occupation, and why?
“I’d like to run a boutique hotel because I’d be very good at it, and also if I was tired I could have a lie down.”

Where would you most like to live?
“Happy where I am.”

Which character in musical history do you most dislike?
“Louis Walsh.”

Which character in musical history would you most like to be?
“Thurston Moore.”

Your favourite album ever?
“Talking Heads ‘Fear of Music'”

Who’s your favourite DJ, and why?
“Lots of them – John Peel, Mr Scruff, Steve Barker, Robert Owens, Mike Pickering… Mainly because it’s not just playing music to them, it’s more important than that.”

What was the first single you bought?
“‘Telegram Sam’ by T-Rex”

And your first gig?
“Loudon Wainwright at Birmingham Town Hall in the 70s, not sure exactly when, mid-ish 70s.

Your favourite qualities in a band or musician?
“Honesty, bookishness, and a sense of rhythm.”

Your favourite author?
“Joyce Carol Oates”

Your favourite film director?
“Andrei Tarkovsky”

Your favourite hero or heroine in real life?
“Vaclav Havel”

Your favourite hero or heroine in fiction?
“Holden Caulfield from ‘The Catcher in the Rye'”

Your favourite food and drink?
“Food; I love grilled halloumi. Drink; coffee keeps me alive.”

Your favourite restaurant, and why?
“The Lime Tree in West Didsbury because it’s a treat.”

Your pet aversion?
“Show-off cars.”

What three songs would you have played at your birthday?
“Martha Reeves & the Vandellas ‘Nowhere to Run’, Sweet Mercy ‘Take Me Away’, and Public Image Ltd ‘Public Image’.”

What is your present state of mind?
“Head-pecked.”

…and your motto is?
“Not every ladder is worth climbing.”