"For me this is possibly the greatest rock album of all time. It's a band playing at the absolute, height of their power. It's very ambitious: it's got elements of ska and funk, pop songs, soul, jazz, rockabilly, reggae - and in the end it's got this really great blues energetic vibe. It just seems like they tossed it off and lyrically it touches on a lot of different subjects. Some of the songs are very political: 'Spanish Bombs' is about the Spanish civil war, 'London Calling' itself - that song is such an anthem. The band had some commercial success after this album - with Combat Rock - but to me London Calling is the pinnacle of their song-writing. It is just a fantastic record with an iconic sleeve; that shot of Paul Simonon smashing his bass, it's just incredible. I saw The Clash play in Chicago when I was on tour and it was like electricity. They came out and they started with 'London Calling'. The place was rammed with 5,000+ people and it went OFF! It was as if a bomb dropped and it was one of the most exciting concerts I've ever seen!"

"I got into M.I.A. at a really weird time. I got into her just two years ago. I mean, I first heard her years ago and I thought it was really cool and interesting but I didn't really pay proper attention. But then I listened again two years ago and I listened to her new record and I was like, ""Yeah, whatever"", but I played it some more and I got really obsessed with it. She always maintains this incredible delivery. I guess she's rapping but to me it's the same as singing. Again, it's about moulding your voice to get the sound you want. Rappers do that a lot. I just like it and I don't have a real explanation as to why. I just think it's really good. She's an original and has a unique perspective. I went back to her other records and so I explored her in a way that I hadn't done with any other artist in years. I was on tour and it was just somehow helpful for me at that time. It added some life to my world."