Passenger

“I believe it's important to put all of your energy into what you're doing rather than doing an office job and trying to muster up energy for music. It's been a real blessing to play music full time.”

“I think, after 'Let Her Go,' I wanted to show people that I don't just write really sad love songs about my ex-girlfriend: that there's another side to Passenger as well that's a bit more up-tempo and more inclined to social commentary.”

“I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and Dad. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I thought, 'Well, this is the last shot - I'm going busking, and let's see what happens.'”

“All I really want is for people to really get what I do and connect with the songs and find meaning in them.”

“If you can write a catchy melody and a song that captures people around the world, what better thing to do? Other than 'Let Her Go,' I haven't managed to do that. And that's fine by me.”

“I try and put myself in other peoples eyes, as I dont feel I've got anything new to say about myself at 23.”

“Before it happened to me, I'd look at other people who had become really successful and think, 'What a dream. That must be absolutely everything they ever wanted.' When it does happen to you, you realize yes, it's incredible. But it also comes with a bit of a weird aftertaste.”

“I don't think I've ever really fitted into the industry and the scene. I feel like I've always been on the cusp.”

“I dropped out of college and started gigging around Brighton.”

“When I wrote 'Let Her Go,' it's not like I was doing anything different. I was just writing a song as I would any other day of the year; it just so happened that this one resonated with people.”

“I think Passenger is a bit of an ambiguous thing because in the past, it's been a band, or it's been just me, or a duo or whatever, but I kind of like that as well. I think it's whatever that I'm doing with whoever I'm doing it with!”

“Every time you go in to make a record with the same group of musicians, the communication gets better and better. You've got that joint experience, and you learn with every single one that you have on top of that.”

“Some songs take months to get right, but 'Let Her Go' was so easy. I was no more pleased with it than any other song I'd written.”

“I think some sing-songwriter music can just be very serious - after an hour and a half of it, you are exhausted - so I try and give it light and shade.”

“If you're a priority artist, then you get an amazing amount of exposure and money thrown. If you are more niche, then it's not necessarily the way forward. If you want Instagram followers and fame, then the major labels are still really great for that.”

“I think I just look extremely normal, like just a sort of fairly trendy bearded bloke. Whereas Ed, you'd know it's Ed Sheeran from space, you know; you can see him from anywhere.”

“Sometimes supporting is difficult because a lot of people go to a gig to see the main act and to have a beer and a chat with their mates, so a lot of the time, even if you were John Lennon, would not listen to you.”

“You see a lot of bands and a lot of artists making that mistake: They become successful for doing something, and then they change everything. They change the people; they change the approach. And then, all of a sudden, almost the essence of what you do is gone.”

“I'm lucky in the sense that I can write wherever I am - on the bus, in the hotel room, backstage, sitting at home.”

“I love that - you get everything from seven-year-olds to 87-year-olds at Passenger gigs.”