Lee Gale

I used to always request orange Smarties only on our rider, for years and years. And then Bill Forsyth, who directed me in Gregory’s Girl, said, “Clare, have you ever thought about who the person is who has to sort the orange Smarties from the other coloured Smarties and whether they’ve washed their hands?” I had no words.

We had a George Best tour and we did some George Best T-shirts. As soon as we got to Leeds, the sales just dropped. I’ve had people say, “I love the album but there’s no way I’m going to wear that shirt.”

You look at Rod Stewart now on the Glastonbury legends slot, and you have to be a certain age and in a certain kind of position to do that – and I’d love to do that. That’s the kind of thing I would love to be doing. I’ve still got the ability and I’ve still got the voice.

Dad sent me out to buy a car one day in a very, very Flash Harry sort of rock’n’roll way. Just said, “Go and find a car.” And I was like, “OK.” I came back with a giant, pearlised-green Ford Granada. The front seats were like giant sofas. It was automatic and I drove it around London for about a year.

There was no hurrying Amy Winehouse. Maybe there was no pathway, really. When you sign a new artist, a young artist, they haven’t got that much experience. You put them in studios with writers and you work with different producers. With Amy, there wasn’t any of that.

A decision needs to be made. The Stranglers or Elvana? Elvana – an Elvis impersonator fronting a band playing Nirvana tracks sounds perplexing on paper but interest piqued, we gather at the Second Stage – and wooooo!