In his own words, James Blunt tells us what he's learnt so far in life...
Just say yes.
In the 80s they were telling us to just say no.
Nah.
I would always advise it’s better to say yes to any opportunity.
Follow your gut, not other people.
That’s important in order to be independent in every aspect of your life.
When I first found fame, Elton John’s advice for me regarding the media was ‘f**k them’.
I never managed to work out if he meant metaphorically or literally.
So I did both.
My proudest moment was playing at Glastonbury .
I performed on the Pyramid Stage three times, and for me that’s as cool as I’m ever going to get.
I’m a big fan of crowd surfing, so I leapt off the stage into an audience of 85,000 and felt so cool.
Only, once I’d got back I realised that the stage was too high for me to climb onto.
So I started to panic and looked into the eyes of a stranger staring down at me from the side of the stage and desperately pleaded, ‘Help me’.
I soon realised he was the BBC camera man and at that point I was the least cool man to ever exist.
Your first experiences are always the most traumatic ones.
An early memory is me running over a snake on my bicycle and it getting caught in the wheel.
If I had known the word I’d have been screaming ‘f**k’ repeatedly.
I had my first car crash aged three, when I lived in Cyprus on a helicopter army patch.
I got in the car one day and, as my mum walked away for a second, I fiddled with the gear stick.
The hand brake wasn’t on and the car rolled towards the fence where there was a Turkish Cypriot minefield.
I jumped out and started shouting, ‘I’m sorry!’ I remember the wing mirrors flying off and my mum’s washing line being dragged along with the car.
Chaos.
I don’t drive much now, to be honest, I’m a motorbike man.
I love bringing people together.
Three of my band mates have married members of the audience.
We treat the audience as our mates and love meeting them.
To have created romance has been a grand, wealthy experience.
There are so many things I’d change about myself .
The premise I take towards plastic surgery is little and often.
I’m working on a few extensions here and there to be the person I truly want to be.
So in a few years I should be 5ft 10in, rather than the 5ft 8in I am now.
My biggest fear is running out of beer.
But that would never happen, because my tour manager is amazing.
At my holiday house in Ibiza I built a nightclub in the garden and I was sponsored by two vodka firms when we started out.
One gave me 500 bottles of vodka.
In the first summer I got through 50.
I have nine years’ worth left – lunacy!
Then Ciroc Vodka sponsored me with 400 bottles.
I have two decades of booze, so now I actually bathe in it.
If anyone needs a bath, come to me.
The last time I was really drunk was yesterday .
I like to start the night with a beer.
I have my own pub in Chelsea and we serve a lager called the Fox & Fez, which is really good.
Then I have good red wine, then vodka and tonics.
If I make it to Jägerbombs I know I’ve gone too far.
But as my father always said, ‘Do it, just don’t get caught.’
It helps to be nocturnal in this job .
I wish there was a pill that took sleeping out of the equation – it’s a waste of time.
I’m sure it’s nice, but it’s not for me.
What’s the point of life?
It is to spend time with the people you love, and I choose a lot of time away from them.
It can be a struggle.
I don’t look at myself in the mirror and think, ‘Where did it all go wrong?’
But I am on tour a lot and that comes at a cost.
I have a wife and two children who are the loves of my life… but I am away for 18 months at a time, and I am just about to go on another tour for a year.
With that comes loneliness and isolation, not just for me, but for them too.
I was in the army and went on operations, but one of the bravest things I do is stand on stage and sing my little heart out songs that mean a great deal to me about personal experiences .
I’m afraid to be judged and it’s exposing.
People stand shoulder to shoulder listening and that’s why it’s one of the most rewarding things I do.
Secrets Behind My Snapshot
I always joked that if I made it big in music I’d live out in Ibiza in the summer – and now I’m living that dream.
Here I am actually in St Tropez at a party celebrating the town’s legacy.
It was a finely dressed affair and everyone was put together beautifully.
But I’d come straight from Ibiza, so was representing in my tank top, sweatbands and my trusty pink flamingo.
Vodka in hand in a wine glass, don’t be fooled, I don’t drink lady petrol.
Growing up in the Mediterranean as my dad was in the Army, I became accustomed to their lovely way of life.
I adore Ibiza in particular and still hit up the clubs as much as I can, they’re amazing.
But now I have kids it isn’t as good to still be out at 4am, as I’m not exactly engaged the next day.
Now there’s a club that opens at 6pm and shuts at midnight and my wife Sofia and I love that one, it’s cool.
I have a Tuk Tuk when I’m out there that says ‘Taxi’ on the side.
I got it from Bangkok.
I drive around and people stop me and ask how much to Ibiza Town.
Then they see me in it and say, ‘Oh my God, you’re that guy who sang that song.’
Then they’ll put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder and say, ‘Oh no, man, what happened?’
I make the most of my holiday home and will do forever.
I might even become a club DJ later in life, if I can get some good taste in music.
Whatever happens I will live, and die, but not too soon, in Ibiza.
- James Blunt's new album 'Once Upon A Mind' is out on October 25th and his UK tour kicks off on February 14th 2020 in Birmingham