Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I think I was probably overworked. I was doing huge tours and having two days off and then going out again. It burned me out.
I've been accused of deliberately hamming up my accent and dropping letters, but that's just how I speak - I used to be a chav.
There are certain things I would never write about - anything that's too distasteful. I think that you can withhold information.
There were so many weird shows when we were younger. 'Clangers.' 'Button Moon.' 'The Moomins.' All very weird, but very cool too.
Just because you have political beliefs or feminist beliefs, you don't have to like everybody, you don't have to like everything.
I think it's really important to always own up to the things that you're not good at and the feelings that you have which are ugly.
I've become aware of being in a very male-dominated industry where a door opens and it's like, 'Oh hello, it's 12 men and me. Again.'
Listening to Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna gave me the confidence I needed to get up on stage and be photographed every night on tour.
I love throwing parties and being sociable and dancing. But I also have this other homebody side and can become quite isolated and anxious.
I'm worried about being pigeonholed as an artist, especially a female one, but I think, essentially, it's the music which people judge you by.
People don't know how to deal with stress and depression, so they're nasty to other people because it makes them feel better about themselves.
I think if you're going out with someone you should be inspired by them. That's why you like them - because they're exciting and they're smart.
On tour it's hard to be vegetarian, especially in Europe because vegetarianism is basically unheard of. They think you're either joking or mad.
When I was younger, I'd always cry on Christmas Day, and I didn't know why. Now I know it's because I was just overwhelmed by the togetherness.
Artists often have mental health issues. And their lifestyles are unstable because of all the travelling and the media commentary on their lives.
I think Berlin is always inspiring. I love being in Berlin. It feels like such a cool city, with so much culture and art and independence everywhere.
It's really important to be a strong role model. It's one of my main things because I feel I've been exposed in such an extreme way to a lot of sexism.
When we're in London my family goes to mass on Christmas Eve. The next day Dad cooks the turkey on the barbecue, standing outside in the freezing cold.
The more you learn, I think the more you realise who you are and what you want and what you believe and what you want to be and where you want to end up.
My parents would, like, argue in front of us and it wasn't a big deal, whereas I know some people's parents who, if they argued, it was like, 'Oh, my God.'
Jealousy is not a nice feeling, I hate feeling jealous. But if you can admit it and laugh at yourself, then that's a good way of dealing with your feelings.
When you're a woman, you have such a strange relationship with your body because - especially when you're in the public eye - you're constantly being judged.
The more you relate to something or somebody speaks to you, it means more. I think that putting yourself out there like heart-on-sleeve, is really important.
I just wanna be an artist, like someone like Bjork and Kate Bush and Regina Spektor. These are people that have saved people, I think, by being what they are.
The Walking Dead' is my show. I download it from iTunes so that I can watch it the second it comes out. It's a show that I've got really involved in, emotionally.
I once got asked in an interview: 'Does it annoy you that the majority of your fans are teenage girls?' I was insulted and angry because it was sexist and ageist.
Everyone has self-esteem issues when they are a teenager, but I think you have to accept who you are, because otherwise you are going to have a really unhappy life.
Sometimes it's funny for me to just pretend I'm a movie character, and think what would you do if this was a movie? Or, what would you do if you were one of your icons?
I like being girly. I used to wear jeans all the time and tracksuit bottoms but then I was like, really all I want to be like is Marilyn Monroe so why am I wearing these?
My first real foray into fashion was the discovery of vintage. Vintage dresses really suit my body type, so the discovery was both wonderfully eye-opening and liberating.
A woman's body and a woman's image is a very political thing, so I trust another woman to understand what that's like and how to portray it in a way people can relate to.
Hair is so important and emotional. I dyed mine black and blond after a breakup - there's something really powerful about changing your hair when you're in a weird place.
Punk may have helped me find my voice and made me realise that I had the right to have one, but it was riot grrrl that helped me sustain that voice and shout a little louder.
It's great to be able to find a way to release your music and do what you want to do artistically and not have to just worry about being accepted by the major label industry.
The worst date I've been on was in L.A. with this guy I didn't want to be on a date with - he was just trying to take me to all these places and impress me but it was so cheesy.
I never thought I could do certain things like somersaults and jumping off the ropes and flips. When you actually learn to do it, you're really amazed with what your body can do.
As a woman there's probably 20 people in your life that have underestimated you or will. Whether that be in your career or in your personal life and you've just got to battle it.
A lot of men just don't understand what it's like to be a woman and how much our bodies mean and what they can be and how much power they can yield, and how much we're shamed for them.
People are scared. People are generally xenophobic - they're scared of what's different. If you're ignorant as well as scared, then you might end up hating something that you're scared of.
As many problems as there are with Hollywood, I feel so much more protected because if there's a serious issue, I have someone I can talk to. Where's that in the music industry? We need it.
I find it really easy to write on the bass, because you kind of get straight to the point: you do lyrics and melody without thinking about decorating the song until after you've finished it.
It is really amazing what you can do with your body and learning that your body has skills and a purpose, as a woman you are always taught that your body is like in the way, too big or just not perfect.
I'll always be playing shows. Even when I'm a crazy granny wearing weird old granny clothes and wandering around with dementia, I'll still be playing. Whether anyone else will turn up is another question.
One day when I was 14 I put together a makeshift CV and walked into this weird boutique in Pinner, near where I lived, to ask if they needed a Saturday assistant. They didn't, but the owner took me on anyway.
Being a person is really hard, obviously depending on your background for some people it can be much harder, but mental health and how we feel about ourselves is so key to changing the world in a positive way.
I've met so many young women who are interested in being involved in music and I think, 'Why are you not actually doing it?' And I hope that if I tell my story, about the setbacks I had, they might not be afraid.
When I first started, in 2006, it was an exciting time. Independent, cool, weird artists were being successful, and magazines were writing about them, and people were getting played on radio that were, like, really good.
I really recommend it, to build a new physical relationship with yourself, and just do it on your own terms, and your own time, it can just give you a different sense of self-worth, and then help with your mental health too.
For me, music is my art and what I have dedicated my life to. For fashion designers, clothing is art. Just as much as a piece of music that I might write is a piece of art. Being able to merge the two industries on stage or at an event is really fun.
When I was young I was listening to the Spice Girls and Destiny's Child. I was singing 'Independent Woman' and 'Survivor,' and it was all about Girl Power and being with your friends. I don't think I was singing, 'Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?'