You’ve just released your third album. Is it true Ringo Starr came to see you at the studio while you were recording it? Yeah, it was amazing, meeting a Beatle, meeting one of your idols or whatever. It was dead good. But it was Ringo so it was like funny. He was just like what you think he’s gonna be like; a dead nice fella. He talked to us for about an hour, listened to some songs, had a cup of tea and got off.
And you’ve played with McCartney, too, haven’t you? Yeah, last year. It was unbelievable. To be honest though, before it I was a bit cynical. As much as he’s amazing and you can’t deny him, he kind of does do my head in. He just seems a bit of a smarmy person. But he was so good and such a nice guy that I took everything back. His gig was unbelievable. It was just too much, it was brilliant. Dead memorable like.
With your new album, You Can Do Anything, what’s the thinking behind the name? It’s like no one really cares – you can get away with what you want. It is positive, but like if you look at the songs, some of them are about people who get up to things that no one really knows about. Like one about a guy who’s a male prostitute.
The album got some mixed reviews when it came out in the UK. Does it bother you what the press says? Not really. Obviously you want your album to do well. But if we’re happy with it and we’re proud of it, then that’s the main thing. You want people to like it don’t you. But when they don’t there’s nothing you can do about it, so there’s not much point stressing over it. I know it’s not sold as well as the first two, but you know, that’s fine. We’re happy with it.
You joined the band through your boyfriend [Zutons’ drummer Sean Payne]. Was that strange? No, ‘cos I’d never been in a band before so it didn’t make any difference to me. I didn’t know what it would be like to have been there from the beginning. I joined like a year later. That was just from them coming in and getting to know me, where I worked in a coffee shop. They found out I played a different instrument and wanted something different in the band; Not just another guitar – a different sound.
You must both get fans coming on to you loads. Is it ever tricky for your relationship? We just laugh. If he thinks I’m getting chatted up, or I think he is, we’re both secure enough that we’ll laugh about it and wind each other up more than get annoyed.
You’ve become a pretty big sex symbol. What was it like making it onto FHM’s list of the world’s top 100 sexiest women? It just makes me laugh. I don’t expect to see myself in stuff like that. It’s funny to me. It’s when the lads see it they take the piss out of me. I’ve never seen myself like that. It makes me a bit embarrassed, but a bit flattered.
You’re a great live band. Do you still love performing as much? Yeah, it doesn’t fade. It sounds dead corny, but it is amazing. It’s like nothing else. It’s what you love to do, so it’s indescribable.
Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse’s cover of your song “Valerie” was a massive hit. What did you think of it? It’s brilliant. We were all really flattered, especially Dave [McCabe] who wrote the initial song. We’re just made up that it’s a good version, not a dead cheap, cheesy version. It’s like he’s taken it somewhere else and it’s now got its own little life. I think it just shows off the song really; that it can be done a completely different way and still come across as a great song. It’s funny a lot of people think it’s her song now and ask, “so what does Amy Winehouse think about you covering her song?”
The new Zutons album, You Can Do Anything, is out now, on Inertia.
