A biography for Benjamin Clementinehasn’t been written yet.
“I just want us to understand each other. That's the point of my music.”
“It's my only freedom, music, and I'm not going to give it up to anyone else.”
“Sometimes it feels like my story overshadows my music.”
“My parents always said that I would be a lawyer or pilot or doctor - and I always just thought that's what I would do.”
“The fact is, it wasn't enjoyable being in secondary school. I was a weird kid.”
“I always see my music for its rewards rather than its awards. But I always thought if there was one award I'd want to win, it would be the Mercury.”
“Because I didn't think anyone would actually listen to my music, I thought I could say whatever I wanted.”
“I don't think I'm a singer, I think I'm an expressionist. But it takes time to put it in people's minds that this guy is not singing, 'Baby, I want to have you.' This guy is actually thinking about what he's saying. This guy has something to say.”
“If I'm being forced to do something I don't want to do, my real self comes out. But whether or not I'm aware of it, no matter what happens, I'm always going to have a fake self, and I'm not going to judge my fake self.”
“I'm literally nowhere yet... When things started going well, this French designer called Ami gave me some shoes and clothes to wear. But when I sat down to play the piano, the very new shoes kept slipping off the pedal. So I took them off, threw them away, and have never worn shoes while playing the piano from then on.”
“If you have parents who can't show you love, a kid can grow up to look arrogant. Because they need to create a fake self. Or they think they're more powerful than they really are.”
“Paris is very dear to me, and I'll never forget Paris.”
“Now I'm standing in front of a thousand people. They're all looking at me, but they're sitting down. They're surrendered, so I have to keep on proving myself to them and giving them all my passion.”
“The minute I stop singing, I'm back to being shy. I'm soft-spoken because I never really talked to people. I didn't learn to do it.”
“I don't have a flat anywhere. I'm registered in the U.K. for tax purposes, I suppose, and my mail goes to my parents.”
“I would describe myself as outspoken. Not political. Outspoken about what I want to say. There are things that need to be said... and I think it's my obligation to say them.”
“Most people think a song is a song - three minutes, and you're done. I don't think this way. Songs are my wings. They're what I use to fly. It's very important for me to put everything in the right place.”
“When I was very young, my brother and I, we used to go into charity shops to buy suits. The thing about clothes is that people judge you by what you wear, unfortunately. So when we wore suits, people gave us respect - we were very young, and it made them think we were older.”
“When I think about Edmonton, Silver Street and Pymmes Park, the old people whose faces are so unhappy, it pushes me to be better. I want to be better to help places like this.”
“The greatest in heroes in life are the anonymous. That's what I believe. Your neighbours are heroes. People who, when you walk down the street, you see them feeding their little baby - these people are heroes because they are living under difficult situations, but they're still trying to save a life.”