ALRIGHT JAMIE, IS THIS YOUR LIQUID LUNCH?
Ha! Something like that, it’s my second pint today but I feel rough...

HEAVY ONE LAST NIGHT THEN?
We went down Po Na Na’s but there was nothing going on...whenever you order two Slippery Nipples you just sound dirty! They’re tame shots but the curdling is fucked – my mate was like ‘I’m not fucking drinking that!’

OK SOME TECHNICAL STUFF FIRST. CRITICS ARE GRABBING GENRES FOR YOUR INFLUENCES HIP HOP, PUNK, REGGAE, LO-FI, GRIME – BUT WHICH OF THESE ARE MOST IMPORTANT AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE JAMIE T FLAVOUR?
It’s not spicy! I don’t like spicy food – people call me a girl for that, but fuck it! Do you expect me to sit here and say (adopting a posh voice and camp gesticulations) ‘Well, my music’s like...ra ra raa!’ All the music I really like, I wouldn’t say that mine is similar. I listen to a lot, and as you get older, you get out of your little genre and start going, ‘Oooh! Oooh!’ (Jamie stabs imaginary categories in the air with his fingers, spraying B&H ashes). I try versions of stuff that I really like, but am always aware that you can’t do it better than someone who’s done it before. Forget about that, do it for yourself.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT?
I lost CDs on tour, I can’t DJ for shit but was playing before we went on. I’ve been buying loads back, I like to own them, have the inlay...

NOT AN MP3 CONVERT THEN? I’ve downloaded 2 songs in my life before, yeah, couldn’t even do it if I wanted to! But stuff I’d forgotten about is being reborn for me, Hellcat compilations and punk compilations. My mate gave me a Rough Squad mixtape, grime stuff...Some Good, The Bad and The Queen, that’s fucking bad that album, I got it a month ago. It’s wicked travelling music; you stick headphones on and really get to know something. Regina Spektor, her stuff’s wicked.

WAS YOUR GORILLAZ REMIX, ‘TURN TO MONSTERS,’ A DIRECT COLLABORATION?
Damon just said, ‘Would you like to remix a Gorillaz track, do what the fuck you like, we’ll give you all the parts!’ At my mate’s place, we usually jump around and do 5 tracks at a time cos we get bored, but we were going for 3 days, with another mate sat playing Playstation in the corner! The original was fucked up man... this version wasn’t about me but about that kid who goes mental on his Mum and then whines when his Dad hits him. It was freestyle; ‘Kids with guns’ reminded me of brats...nothing to do with me!

DOES PLAYING TO AN INTIMATE CROWD SUIT YOUR STYLE BETTER?
I think so, with big stages there’s so much distance and gigs are always fifty-fifty between you and the crowd. You can do it well, we haven’t learnt that yet and we still feel like we should be playing pubs, but its exciting doing new things and you’ve got to play for people, it’s unfair to have a line outside trying to get in! We played this gig that was meant to have a live link with XFM, but the bloke had to say on air that he couldn’t even get in!

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE GIRLS SINGING ALONG TO YOUR SONGS AT THE FRONT?
It’s wicked to have a crowd up for a party. Touring opens your eyes to how England isn’t just made up of London...gigs where people come to have fun, not stand there going, ‘Are we meant to like him?’ I used to play 4 gigs a week but then people came down to check me out, standing there being critical cunts, trying to look cool. At least the industry people get bored after 20 minutes.

DO YOU WELCOME IT OR GET VEXED WHEN PEOPLE COMPARE YOU WITH THE STREETS AND PLAN B OR WHEN NME CALLS YOU THE ‘ONE MAN ARCTIC MONKEY’?
I respect those artists so if you’re going to be called anything...! But we’re all English and mostly solo artists: well done! (Jamie sticks his tongue over his front teeth and starts clapping like an idiot) Talk about lazy journalism! Your stuff is a lot more comical than Plan B’s... What, it’s fucking serious! It’s got heart, man, I’m bleeding! Harsh exterior, jelly insides! Plan B is an aggy guy; we’re not very similar beat-wise or lyrically.

BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR STORYTELLING STYLE? WHY DO PLAN B, ALEX TURNER,

LILY ALLEN AND YOURSELF TALK ABOUT WHAT’S IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF YOU?
It’s nothing new...has anyone listened to a Clash record in their fucking life? ‘London Calling’, ‘London’s Burning’, ‘White Riot,’ – they’re all things that you know and see, not about fairies and trees and (lurching into theatrical choir boy voice complete with hand spirals) ‘Oh I love her and she’s left me, Oh my God!’ It’s been happening for ages, you know, Ian Dury and the Blockheads...I don’t have MTV but it’s like I can’t relate - diamonds and bitches, all the cars are borrowed – it’s nothing to do with me! I don’t hear gunshots in my road when I go to sleep, I hear kids kicking footballs against my window. You got to chat about what you know...what I know is possibly similar to what Lily knows and what Mike Skinner and Plan B know, cos every high street is the same.

WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST THINGS ABOUT LIVING IN WIMBLEDON?
It’s the best of both worlds being on the outskirts, you can go in 15 minutes to Waterloo or the other way to Kingston. The worst is the tennis! For 2 weeks it’s awful, it takes over the fucking town, man, drink prices go up...

YOU COULD ALWAYS RENT OUT YOUR ROOM OR START THE ‘JAMIE T TOURIST TRAIL’! NO PLANS TO MOVE TO LA THEN? OR SHOREDITCH?!
Shoreditch! (hisses it through laughter) I think it was Tom Vek who said to me you can’t find anything in Shoreditch apart from a drink that’s alcoholic or a smoothie! It’s fucking true!

TELL US ABOUT THE BAND YOU USED TO PLAY BASS FOR?
We never got off the ground, we did 5 rehearsals and then it ended! People didn’t have their minds on it and no one had money. I wrote with a mate called Sketchy, (bu-uurr-rp!) pardon me, he’s still around, and yeah, one guy is in The Pacemakers, the band I roll with now. They were a good group of people, all with silly names, it was a laugh.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A DRUM N BASS MC?
Yeah I used to do that, I like the speed but I used to go half-time, never baa-ba-da-ba-ba-da-ba! I’m more into jungle because you’ve got the half-time reggae lines over the top - you can go eee-hh e-eeh or you can go o-oo-ooh! I still think about it when I write stuff but drum n bass is too moody for me now, kind of verging on industrial German shit.

DO YOU EVER PLAY ELECTRIC GUITAR RATHER THAN ACOUSTIC BASS?
I sometimes play one with 4 strings; it’s quite hard to do proper basslines when you’re singing. I’ll try anything – although you’ll never see me rocking with a synth (Jamie writhes around like an 80s prog reject). Dancers could be allowed though!

IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR PLACE WHERE YOU GO TO WRITE RHYMES?
(Singing that fantastic theme tune with sickly sweet voice) ‘There’s a magical place, we’re on our way there Toys in their millions all under one roof / It’s called Toys R us!’ Sorry, erm, nah, it just happens where it happens. When I forget a notepad I use my phone. I was on Jo Whiley and my mate Dougie goes to me after, ‘You should’ve said notepad, man, cos it’s like you were saying (his poshest accent comes back) ‘I got a new pad the other day...’ For 2 weeks I’ll write constantly, and then there’ll be nothing, but it’s always on the mind.

WHY IS YOUR ALBUM CALLED ‘PANIC PREVENTION’?
I started doing ‘Panic Prevention’ mixtapes to hand out at gigs. I was having panic attacks then and my Mum bought me this bollocks relaxation CD, some voice telling you to calm down, but it was a capella so I thought wicked, use this! I started putting skits in-between songs and that was it.

DO YOU STILL HAVE PANIC ATTACKS?
Oh yeah, but you learn how to deal... I wouldn’t be me otherwise fuck it; I’d rather live with them.

WHICH TRACKS ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FROM THE ALBUM?
They all mean separate things... like anyone’s first album, it doesn’t take you 3 months, you’ve been doing it for 3 years. I’m only 20, life moves pretty quickly...I like ‘Dry Off Your Cheeks,’ everyone told me it was shit, but I like it. Another is ‘So Lonely Was The Ballad,’ as these remind me of bad times becoming good. It was when I had nothing to do, so I got productive, I did it for myself.

IS ‘SHEILA’ A REAL PERSON OR A FICTIONAL CHARACTER?
She’s more than one person, from around Putney. We were 16 or 17 and knew all the barmaids and managers, getting in the back door for lock-ins. I was meeting people from out of London or from eastern Europe who had come wanting better, but were having the same problems and dropping off the line, realising it was their personalities, not being downtrodden...The frustration of not knowing how to get somewhere, just getting rat-arsed. I heard from one girl, she’s sorted herself out, there’s some joy there.

WHY ‘SALVADOR’?
It’s far away...I looked up the port and everything! Girls are the same everywhere; ‘Lucy’ was a freestyle rhyme – the first 2 verses are freestyled and the last is written. There’s as much nonsense as there is sense, but nonsense is psychological; you can say some of the truest things when you’re not thinking.

IS ‘CALM DOWN DEAREST’ ADDRESSED TO ANYONE IN PARTICULAR?
I’m not going to tell you who they are!, They know who they are...(Laughs) They fucking better do!

DID THE BLOKE IN ‘IF YOU GOT THE MONEY’ EVER COUGH UP?!
(Laughs) Well it’s more a theory of life...ya know, young professionals!

SOME OF YOUR LYRICS ARE LIKE KEROUAC’S LINES – ALL FREEWHEELING LANGUAGE AND FLIRTATIONS WITH DEATH – DO YOU LIKE BEAT POETRY?
‘On The Road’ is cool, I’ve had 100 pages left for ages! I’m really interested in that first generation to contradict the modern world, careerism...It’s hard to go against what you’ve been taught – you kind of go around in this cloud of guilt.

ONE SKIT SAYS ‘FUCKING CYCLISTS...I’D RUN ‘EM OVER, THE CUNTS!’ IS THAT YOU?
Ha! That’s my older brother!

HOW ABOUT YOUR LINE ‘SHE’S A FAT BITCH BUT I’D STILL GIVE HER...ONE...!’?
That had to come out! It’s not me. People slag other people off in your ear, fucking drunk – I laugh hearing mates on nights out. Some girl said she found it offensive, like ‘Who the fuck are you to say that?’ If you’re offended but you know how it goes, I don’t understand – I just sing what I hear!

DO YOU USE UPBEAT MELODIES TO DIFFUSE DARK AND VIOLENT LYRICS?
The contrast wasn’t intentional...But take old reggae ballads, beautiful songs you can imagine girls dancing to, the guys romancing, but they’re about violence! You know that (offering a perfect rendition of The Slickers’ anthem) ‘Walking down the road with a pistol in your waist, Johnny you’re too bad...’ That’s a beautiful song about really raw shit, but girls still dance to it. I like that subtlety and I don’t know any minor chords, so it’s all major!

IS IT REALLY BETTER TO LIVE FAST AND DIE YOUNG?
I don’t know! Ask me in 25 years, when I’ve got liver failure! I’ll be sitting around going ‘Yeah, live fast...’ Live how you fucking want, man!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RADIO-FRIENDLY VERSIONS OF YOUR TUNES, WITH ALL OF YOUR SIGNATURE EFFING AND BLINDING EDITED OUT?
Something gets lost. I used to get aggy but I want more people to listen, and everyone knows that a single is the real fucking deal. I bite my tongue, I’ll make tunes my way and if radio aren’t happy, I’ll cut the fuck out of it - have it!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR COLLABORATION WITH LILY ALLEN?
I did a song that needed lyrics, so Lil came over. It wasn’t on the same tip as the album, but we’ll put it out.

WHICH BANDS ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?
The Macabees, Hot Club de Paris, The Clash, Rancid...

WHAT TUNE WOULD GET YOU OUT OF BED?
Fucking hell! ‘Bottle Of Smoke’ by The Pogues.

WHICH TUNE IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GOOD WALLOW?.
I don’t do that, that’s why I don’t listen to Radiohead! They’re rad but I just want to tie my noose! (miming strangulation) When I’m sad I listen to happy music - fuck it, let’s go! Put on ‘Many Rivers To Cross’ by Jimmy Cliff, have your moment and then listen to Pressure Drop and move on quickly.

HAVE YOU GOT ANY BEEF WITH ANYONE ON THE SCENE?
I’ve got a bone with Larrikin Love! They make me laugh, right, I toured a day behind them and promoters were like ‘Larrikin said you used to be with them and you all fell out and you’re not the same since!’ Then they said I stole loads, that they wrote ‘Sheila,’ which was originally ‘Steven,’ fucking jokers!

IS BOOZE YOUR DRUG OF CHOICE?
Definitely. Smoking bud makes me panicky.

DO WE DRINK TOO MUCH?
Yeah! I did 16 interviews for German mags, all about binge drinking! You get tired of pretending, you say ‘Yeah, it’s that bad, you get drunk, the bell rings, you get more drunk and you go outside to fight.’ It’s not funny to them!

DO DRUGS WORK?
Fuck off! No The Verve said it right on (sings a verse). I love being drunk, not fucking plastered but merry (flaps with fantasy butterfly wings), floating around...

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF MYSPACE; EVERYONE’S A ROCK STAR OR AN A&R MAN?
Weird! I like myspace to answer people’s questions, chat about gigs, but you can go too far with making it a promotional tool. In London A&R are everywhere...kids getting grabbed by labels, being asked to write albums when they’ve only got 4 tracks! It clogs up your arteries for inspiration and makes you die...it’s too much.

WHY IS NEW YEAR’S ALWAYS SHIT?
Shit innit! Last year I stayed in but I’m thinking ‘Should I go out, could it be good?’ I’ll end up in some shitty house party, going ‘This is shit!’ I’ve only had one good one, can’t remember when, but I did my first pill and sat at the top of the stairs shaking for like 8 hours, it was great!

WHO’S YOUR IDEAL WOMAN?
My girlfriend. We’ve been together for 2 years... she’s from Richmond...That’s all I’m saying...

YOU’VE GOT A BIG FEMALE FOLLOWING; HOW ABOUT BEING A FUTURE SEX SYMBOL?!
What? Fuck off! Get a grip! I’ve got a big nose and haven’t washed in 6 days! Interview me in a year and I’ll be ‘Yeah, being a sex symbol is hard...’ I’ll be in The News Of The World with my top off going ‘eeeehh...’ That’s not happening!

WHAT ABOUT THE SMOKING BAN ARRIVING THIS SUMMER?
Fucking ridiculous! Why not have smoking pubs and non smoking pubs?

ONE QUESTION FOR MR BLAIR?
...Did you actually like Oasis?!

THERE’S A POLICE SKIT ON THE ALBUM – IS THERE A RIFT BETWEEN US AND THEM?
Waaaah! My brother was harassed, searched every time and fucking bullied. He was only 16 and caught for like graffiti, but they put him in the back of a police van, handcuffed him, driving around the back streets going over fucking speed bumps - what is that? But I’ve also been helped, lying with the shit kicked out of me. I don’t know what to think.

WHAT WORRIES YOU MOST ABOUT OUR WORLD?
Everything! The 70s had punk rock and everything was fucked, 80s was shit music and money; in the 90s we had Oasis, Blair and new politics...but the Noughties, what the fuck have we got? We’re at war and we can’t win...I skip politics now cos it’s about keeping people out of power, we can’t do anything.

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF IT WASN’T MUSIC?
Putting on nights and designing flyers. I had the worst job in a bakery, like being a chimney sweep! I was getting like £2.50 an hour and had cuts and burns all over my arms...nasty!

JAMIE T'S DEBUT ALBUM, ‘PANIC PREVENTION,’ IS OUT 29TH JANUARY ’07