The pop-soul singer takes your questions on name changes, musical touchstones, the transformative power of amateur boxing, and not dating Charlize Theron
Do you stand by your claim that [debut album] Introducing the Hardline … is as significant as Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band? VerulamiumParkRanger
I said a lot of shit, but Muhammad Ali was one of my heroes, and I similarly realised that if you say outrageous things, it gets attention. As a young artist, you’ve got to get your work heard and to a degree I hypnotised myself into believing I was a genius. It worked like a charm, but I didn’t understand the degree I’d have to pay for that. However, I had the sense to idolise the Beatles and the Stones, and listen to Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder and Brian Wilson’s productions. So why would my taste abandon me when I was creating? I’m proud of that album and all my albums. We need people to be rock stars! When Oasis came out and Liam said the stuff he did, they grabbed the brass ring. I’ll forever have respect for that because I felt I did the same thing.
When I saw you in London in 1987 [when you were performing as Terence Trent D’Arby] you were a real breath of musical fresh air. Who inspired you then and now? 1Love1Heart
Buddy Holly and Sam Cooke wrote the foundations of what became pop music, and I idolised Jackie Wilson, the Who and all the other people I just mentioned, but I didn’t want to be a revival of something. I saw Rod Stewart as the more socially acceptable version of the vision of Sam Cooke, and actually told Rod that he was able to continue where Sam’s music was going, into rock. So at a certain age, listening to Rod – mixing a soulful voice with guitars and rock – I knew that was my shit and that I could take that forward.
