"Queen Of Denmark and the Irrepressibles album were kind of jointly on my CD player in the car and I played them both endlessly. I love John's voice and I absolutely love Jamie [McDermott, Irrepressibles founder]'s voice as well - they're completely different voices but both extremely natural. Some people I play The Irrepressibles to, they thought it sounded like Antony, but I didn't get that. Whereas John has a more masculine appeal and nowness that has been embraced by the gay community of bears and beards. His stories are of woe tinged with a sardonic sense of humour, which is one of the most important things about his songwriting, whereas Jamie has an extravagant vision - extravagance on a shoestring, I don't know how he does it - but lovely orchestral instrumentation and absolutely beautiful vocals. I went to see the Mirror Mirror show at the Barbican and it was amazing and it should've been written about and applauded by the likes of The Guardian and that, but for some reason Jamie still continues to do lovely work but it just doesn't get the press and the support from the music industry that John has had. John is great and deserving of it - this album's brilliant, as is Pale Green Ghosts, but I would especially like people to listen to that Irrepressibles album, because he's a great artist and a hidden gem amongst the whole 21st century queer landscape."

"Leslie West - formerly Leslie Weinstein - was a New York guitar player who played with The Vagrants and lots of other local bands that were coming up in the New York scene. The thing about that record is the producer was Felix Pappalardi, who produced Cream as well as The Youngbloods, and was also an accomplished bass player. So, originally it was just going to be a Leslie West solo record, there was no Mountain, the name of the record was Mountain, but it was by Leslie West. But he didn't have a bass player so Felix Pappalardi played the bass, but the material started coming together so fast. I mean, songs like 'Long Red', I listened to those growing up and, in fact, a few of my songs had their beginning on Mountain songs. Bow buh duh doo dah duuh dow, that began a song called 'Watchin' You' that I wrote, with a flat third; you can hear where it crosses over, that's from 'Never In My Life', a Mountain song. His guitar playing is just undeniable. And of course 'Mississippi Queen' is great, just three chords! When I picked up the guitar and started to play licks and stuff like that, I sound like Leslie West, because intrinsically he's not about speed, he's about melody. Blues-based melody, I'll grant you, but it still holds up to me. I still play it."

"I first heard him at about 16, and listening to him was like just doing really good drugs, it was like smoking [laughs]... I felt very moved by his music and when I did, it felt like it was just for me, because it seemed like no-one had ever heard of him. No-one really knew of him that well until - I'd often put his record on and blow people's minds with it. I'm not sure what I meant by it being ""personal"" - it sounds like a good way of not talking about it! - I don't want to repeat myself, but listening to it, I never get bored. If we want to get into the sound of a record, there's some pretty innovative sounds in there, in a way. I think it was quite an adventurous record, really, for a supposed folk singer and I find his songs very moving. The first song I ever sang was 'Don't Want To Know ‘Bout Evil', I did a version with William Orbit, and then one of the first gigs I ever did was supporting John Martyn. I think it was at Queen Elizabeth Hall - I was so happy, and running around with bottles of champagne and was like ""no! He's not drinking them!"" He was pretty grumpy, but it seemed to me had different states of mind - this time, he was in a different place."