You mentioned the Beatles and performed a bit of “Let It Be” during your recent show at the Troubadour. How did George Harrison’s passing affect you?

I think George Harrison encapsulates the idea of being able to be a well-respected musician and star but maintain a quiet nature and a will to succeed rather than the flamboyance of Lennon and Jagger and all those sorts. He’s just a refreshing kind of alternative to that hedonistic 60’s sort of personality. He obviously had his moments - - I mean, everyone around then did - - but I think he kept it low-key and maintained that his guitar playing and his music was what came first. He’s obviously quite a sensitive person and I think that he just clicked into that band perfectly; with the strong personalities of Lennon and McCartney and their perfectionism, the band needed someone of the immense talent that George Harrison had because those two wouldn’t have settled for anything less. He did the job over and above everyone’s expectations, really.

What it is like being the front man of the band? Are there times when your band mates could easily answer most questions, or is there a reason why people should or want to talk to you?

The other three could probably answer a lot of the questions about musical influences, how the band formed and things. But I think it’s just because so many people want to talk bout the lyrics, really. So I think that’s why.

Lyric writing, yes, but also your voice. Part of the power of Starsailor live, I think, is that no one really believes you can sing like that until they actually witness it. Were you ever nervous about letting that voice out in public?

When we first got signed there was the inevitable group of people who were opposed to what I was doing. I think it’s quite in your face, quite intense and the sort of voice and music that you either love or hate. But that’s what everyone should aim for, because the worst feeling in the world is indifference.

When you guest DJ’d on KCRW, I was really struck by the artists you’d picked. What I saw that Starsailor had in common with Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, Big Star and the others you played was an earnestness and deep desire to play music. Do you ever fear that people will exploit that earnestness, and are you scared at all that you might end up like some self-destructive artist who succumbs to the thing that they love most because people around them are taking advantage of them? I mean, the guys that I mentioned all met some kind of tragedy in their careers.

(Laughing) Interesting question! I think it’s definitely a hard, hard world to try and live in if you’re a sensitive and modest kind of person. But you just got to separate your home life and personal life from the world of music, all the people that you’re kind of working with. It’s important that you keep those sorts of things in perspective, really. It sounds cynical but you try and work out if people would be that nice to you if you weren’t selling records or doing good business. I think you can always tell the people that are only interested in that side because of the little knowledge they have of where you come from musically, your heritage and things. You meet a lot of people in music as well who inspire you, who’ve worked with great people before and have put you in the same bracket, and that’s who you want to sort of listen to a bit more.