I’m not anti-fashion, but I’ve always had a bit of a punk attitude. That’s important, I think. I do my own thing.

I am a reluctant celebrity, in some ways.

I always see myself as much more of a musician than a celebrity.

I’m not over the top; I’m not wacky. I’m fairly understated, and that reflects in the way I sing.

I am fairly classless because it is very difficult to class someone who comes from a mixed marriage.

I always said that if I could just find a guy who could chop wood and had a nice smile, it wouldn’t bother me if he was a thug or an aristocrat, as long as...

I’m always late.

My musical career was an accident.

I’ve got absolutely no real perception, properly, of time.

To be a mother you must be strong. Even if you don’t feel it, you have to pretend.

I’ve never associated myself with other singers, certainly not female singers.

All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of ‘Dynasty?’ No thanks!

If you’re only making an album every 10 years, it better be good.

I think you only really feel like an outsider if you’ve been an insider.

Most of my lyrics are little stories about my experiences or those of my friends.

I don’t get easily bored. I’m not that kind of person.

From being at art college, I’ve always hated people that have the gall to think that they’re being incredibly different when they’re doing something in a very acceptable way, something safe that they’ve seen someone...

I’m uneasy with fame so I do my best to avoid places that will bring me more attention.

My daughter and stepson are really broad-minded.

London was a really multi-racial city … It’s incredible how comfortable people are with race there.

People are so used to having their lives filmed, they’re not even conscious of having cameras around. I still have that sort of suspicion when a camera comes out. I view it as a thing...

I just aspire to pick people up. That’s my ambition.

My father was a very difficult man.

Once a song’s out there, it’s no longer mine. And that’s the whole purpose of music: to belong to people.

When you play arenas you can create whatever you want. At a theater the height of the stage and the limitations of the theater can make you feel more separate from the audience.

Radio interviews are really snappy and I’m just bad at that. I just close down.

The anxiety I feel when I’m late is nothing like the anxiety I feel when I’m on time.

I can’t see myself just endlessly singing the same songs over and over again.

Whatever I’m doing, I’m in that moment and I’m doing it. The rest of the world’s lost. If I’m cooking some food or making soup, I want it to be lovely. If not, what’s the...

When you tour, you regain the music and the connection with the audience.

When I go into the studio, I completely detach. I let my emotions come out.

I don’t like looking outrageous.

I have no technical training and am completely uneducated in music.

When I was young, people were almost identified solely by the kind of music they liked. People fell into categories of who liked what.

I look a lot like my father and his mother.

People generally let me be me. People are aware that I’m not someone particularly begging for attention. They hold back a bit with me.

There isn’t a class structure in Nigeria; there’s a tribal structure and prestige as far as money is concerned.

I love writing songs.

I’m not shy or reclusive. I just spend my time with people rather than journalists.