1. Where did you guys meet?
Si, Robbie and I met when we were 13, at a posh school in Surrey -
we were geeks, applying for a scholarship - but we didn't start
playing together until we were 17 or so. Jonny was in the year below
us, and because we were bigger than him, we were able to steal him
from another band.

2. Who are your biggest influences?

In the evolution of the band, a big period for us, I think, was
early 1997 when OK Computer, Vanishing Point and Ladies and
Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space came out, at roughly the same
time. Up until that point, as a band, we'd basically been doing
fairly standard Britpop covers - but those three albums broadened
our horizons considerably. Obviously I don't think we sound like any
of those albums, but I think after that point we adopted a more 'why
not?' attitude to incorporating things into our sound, and that's
got us to where we are today!

3. What are you listening to right now?

Right now, a new song we're working on in the studio! Other than
that, the new Arcade Fire album, which is provoking the usual 'is it
as good as the first album' debate within the band.

4. What's your favourite record of all time?

Probably Pet Sounds. I'm not saying it's the best album of all time.
It's just the one I enjoy listening to most, especially when spring
is in the air.

5. What was the last album you bought?

The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. That
makes me sound really cool, but if I'm being honest I was wandering
around a record shop, and it was a complete impulse buy, based on it
being £3.99. It is a fantastic album though.

6. What's the worst thing that's happened to you while playing a
show?
Robbie used to play tambourine on our song 'Ghosts'. It was on a
stand, and he would hit with a drumstick. At one gig, he was hitting
it so hard, it slid forwards off the stage, taking with it our
entire keyboard set-up. This was fairly early in the song, and he
spent the rest of it retrieving instruments from among the audience.
A bit Spinal Tap.

7. Which of your songs are you most proud of?

Probably The World Is Outside. It's a great, immediate pop song that
will (hopefully!) make people move, but at the same time there's a
lot of other things going on within it that people will enjoy and
pick up on with repeated listens. Or maybe I'm just blowing our
collective trumpet.

8. What was the last film you saw at the cinema or on DVD?

We don't really get much of a chance to go the cinema any more -
we're usually doing gigs of an evening! But the last film I watched
on DVD was I Confess, an old Hitchcock classic, starring Montgomery
Clift as a tortured (mentally) priest. Good film.

9. What was the last gig you went to?

The last band I saw was the support act on the tour we've just
finished, Snowfight in the City Centre. They're really good, despite
not actually being from Manchester.

10. What are your favourite sports/what teams do you support if any?

I don't understand supporting football teams, especially now they're
almost entirely composed of rich foreigners. I'm not being
xenophobic! Just arguing that there's no real difference between,
say, Arsenal and Chelsea. Why choose one over the other?
Having said that I do enjoy watching sport - I like saying the more
skillful or artistic team/player win, or seeing a great comeback.
Triumph over adversity, that sort of thing.

11. What's your vice?

I read too much, at the expense of conversation.

12. Sum up Ghosts in 5 words.

Bass. Guitar. Keyboards. Drums. Fired.