Paloma Faith quotes:

I was mainly raised by a working mum who didn't have much time or inclination for making food. So I had three or four basic meals: fish fingers and a tomato; a packet scotch egg and a tomato; pasta with a tin of tomatoes; and extra mild plastic-y cheddar chopped into cubes with bits of cucumber.

Once you accept that we're all imperfect, it's the most liberating thing in the world. Then you can go around making mistakes and saying the wrong thing and tripping over on the street and all that and not feel worried.

I agree with cosmetic surgery for medical reasons - my mother had breast cancer and I think it's very sad when somebody has no choice in what happens to their body.

I don't overthink when I'm styling. I kind of forgive myself and accept that I will make mistakes. Getting dressed should be a fun experience!

A lot of men do have a fear of my ultra-femininity. Sometimes people say I look like a drag queen, that I look scary, but I think that's a fear of my confidence. Most women in contemporary culture pare down their femininity, so there's a slight androgyny about them, and I think men have got used to seeing that.

Mum doesn't like it when I mention that Dad's a better cook than her. He was born in Spain and spent eight years in Portugal and is exceptional at lots of cuisines.

Sometimes when you've got too much money you lose your imagination.

I use debit cards for everyday purchases, as I don't believe in credit cards. But this has caused problems, especially with American touring, because I refuse to have a credit card - and in America you can't pay for anything on a debit card.

I love interesting people with eccentric stories and outsiders of the world.

You know, my mum's always encouraged me and never made my gender an issue, I guess. She brought me up to believe in equality, as opposed to feminism or sexism - so it just meant that my gender was not relevant to what I was capable of achieving.

I go running three times a week - outside in the park, come rain or shine, and I hate every moment of it. I hate everything about it. But I know it's important for health reasons and the reason why I run, in particular, is because my stage work is like cardiovascular work so I don't want to lose my breath on stage.

I design all my sets. With my tour and my album artwork, I co-design that with people who are better at drawing than me. But I've got a good imagination. I went to art school so I understand how to communicate my ideas.

I'm not one for sightseeing or going around the shops when I'm on holiday. I do enough shopping when I'm at home, and like to have a complete break when I'm away.

I think initially, the record industry struggled a lot with digital media because there are a lot of aspects to it that can potentially destroy our industry.

Compared to a lot of artists, I'm usually quite covered up in videos and photo shoots.

I don't know anyone, from any class, who's had a perfectly easy life. I've met people born into wealthy families who feel like they didn't have much emotional support, and people who come from working-class families who had loads of love but no money.

I'm surrounded by friends and family who are not that impressed by celebrity. They don't have any problem telling me I'm acting like an idiot or I'm not that funny.

I think what makes me different from the average Joe is that I feel free to be myself and express myself in the way that I want. If that makes you mad, we're living in a world of dire straits. If anything, it makes you more sane.

I really like to please people, and I think it's a symptom of being an only child.

My mum came from nothing and didn't have many opportunities in her youth, and she blames a lot of her social inadequacies on that.

Ever since I was little, my mum used to choose an outfit for me and lay it on the bed so I'd know what I was wearing the next day. I never went to a uniformed school, so I always had an outfit - and I never really grew out of that, I don't think.

I try to stick to a certain diet all the time, and then when I feel like a reward, I have it. I try to stick to no dairy, no sugar, no wheat.

Some men think that if you're empowered and sure of yourself then you're a man-hater, but it's like, 'No, I'm just the same as you are, but maybe just a tiny bit more confident.'

I like someone with a really good and dark sense of humour.

If I go out with no make-up and a tracksuit on, nobody comes up to me. And if they do, I won't do a photo because I wouldn't want any photographic evidence.

I think everybody should focus on inner beauty.

I travel regularly and have learnt to be very methodical as far as packing is concerned. For example, I always check the weather in advance of where I'm going to ensure that I've packed the right clothes.

It's tragic that you can define a whole movement in music by gender alone. People are like, 'Oh, look, another quirky girl.'

I like not to feel that all my eggs are in one basket, or I get nervous.

I feel quite fearless protecting the people I love.

I'm not interested in what other people are doing. That's their business.

When you research prolific songwriters, it is usually later in their career they write songs that they distance themselves from, or it's about other people.

I don't understand why the accent you speak in has to indicate what level of intellect you have.

I love Andre 3000 from OutKast. I think we'd complement each other, but I'm hoping he's got a good sense of humour.

I feel quite excited about the possibility of working on multiple albums. There's something really iconic about having a catalog featuring a lot of albums, and I'd love to have that legacy.

I have a lot of admiration for people who've been in relationships a long time, married for years.

I don't have a daily routine, beyond brushing my teeth. It changes every day.

I'm under no illusion that there are things about me that I'd like to change. I just accept who I am, and I'm proud of it.

I'm so used to changing time zones that I can sleep at any time. I'm rarely ever tossing and turning - if I am, it's really a big deal.

I stay true to my lyrics. If I go back and look at them in hindsight, the emotions I had when I wrote them have passed. It feels unjustified to change them.

My mum's always on at me to have children and blames 'that stupid stage thing you do' for me not already having a family.

If I get in a relationship, it's always for the long-term; if not, I don't see the point.

I was once in a long relationship with a man who ran a vintage clothes store but had been a chef, so I'd come home each night to a different three-course meal. I was quite fat, but so happy.

I don't feel I fit in with morning television because I'm like a vampire and I like to stay up late.

I lend people money, but I'd never lend something that would jeopardise a friendship if I didn't get it back.

Real talent shines through regardless of how many others there are around you.

Cinema affects everything, from the way I get dressed to how I build my stages.

I feel curious about every situation I'm in.

All the things that I find beautiful have a darkness about them.

I get plenty of, 'Is that song about me?' from men but I just tell them to get over themselves.

All creative people have to have vulnerability because those nuances are what move people. So I'm deeply insecure - but I'm good at hiding it.

I think I'd be a million times more successful and more iconic if I was a singer in the '40s. I'd be allowed a level of mystery, and I think I'd suit that decade.

I've got so many clothes; I can dress in any style.

My desire to experiment comes from my attention-deficit approach to cosmetics. I just get really bored, really easily.

Whatever you are, you have the right to get married.

The freedom that money gives you makes you... well, I wouldn't say happy, but I'd say it gives you diversity.

I really hate bureaucracy and the idea that I'm not a free person.

I'm not that materialistic. I like nice clothes and that, but I don't spend lots of money on stuff. I'm not really into TV, I don't have an iPod, I've got a gramophone.

You feel a sense of elation seeing yourself on a billboard.

There's nothing better than achieving your goals, whatever they might be.

Dressing up is like therapy; I feel better in myself when I've made an effort.

If I see something that inspires me, I'll dress like it.

I get to know my regular fans, and they inspire me.

I enjoy being a girl.

I've spent a lot of time being bohemian and sleeping on floors, but eventually I want to have kids and I want to bring them up in a secure environment.

I don't have a competitive bone in my body, so the last thing I want to do is be competing with people.

Celebrity culture is an aspirational culture regardless of how much you don't want it to be.

Curvy is something to be proud of.

I'm really into food; it's one of my favourite things - everything from potato waffles to lobster.

There's nothing wrong with a thick eyebrow; Frida Kahlo had them.

It's amazing living alone. I'm very lucky. It's like a refuge.

I like sparkles; I think I'm a magpie.

I always carry a good lipstick with me, like MAC in Ruby Woo. It has a matt finish, the essence of that vintage glamour look.

When I do my shows, it's really cross-generational. Sometimes there's three generations there.

We all get old, but I always say the skinny, pretty girls will be screwed.

We live in a society where everything's packaged.

I am inspired by show girls and Vegas. I was a cabaret performer, so that's where all that influence comes from.

I'm not a pop act, churning stuff out really quickly. I find the music that arises from that style of working is distracted, not particularly profound.

Adele's like a beacon of honesty. Doesn't compromise, goes to America and she's still the same sweary cockney.

I wish I was more stupid because I'm either completely ecstatic and joyous and absolutely high as a kite or I'm a bit morbid. There's never anything in between.

I mean, my music career and my acting career - if I want to do them to the extent that I eventually do want to get to, it's going to be a bit of a balancing act. But I'm hoping they'll just go hand in hand.

Anything that's on television as often as someone on 'The X Factor' is what's successful. That doesn't mean that I condone that or think that it's right. To be honest, I'd be the first to say I think it's a shame. But if that's the way it is then that's the way it is.

I think that there should be options available, quite early on, that if someone is recognised as a disruptive child, for them to be trained vocationally. Maybe if those kids were given the option to learn how to contribute to society on a practical level they wouldn't get into trouble.

No one ever chats me up; I think they all think I'm taken. Either that or no one fancies me.

I'm the type of person who, if somebody offers me a free meal, I get excited because you never know where your next free meal is going to come from.

Anybody who says they don't want to be seen on a show which has millions of people watching it at one time when they're in the business of selling records is a bit silly.

I believe in life you need to always ask for everything politely and nicely, and then if they say no you do what you wanted to do anyway

I don't connect much with the present. I have more of an affinity for what came in the past.

I don't normally have time to read, so when I go away I like to take a few books.

I dread the idea of a paparazzi snapping me while I'm out running.

I just have an inability to lie.

I just really want to make albums - and however I can, I will.

I love going to the cinema. Whenever I get time off, that's where I go.

I think soul is soul. I don't see new soul as any different to old soul.

I try not to brand myself 'weird' any more because it sticks.

I vote Labour and can't begin to acknowledge anything good that comes from a Tory.

I want my shows to be eerie and mysterious.

I wasn't really comfortable reading until I was 12.

I'd love to say that I could write political songs, but I don't feel clued-up enough.

I'd never go on a reality show - it's too invasive.

I'd rather be on my own than be with a violent man.

I'd rather die than let somebody get the better of me.

I'd say that, first and foremost, I'm a performer; I started performing when I was four years old, and being on stage from a young age set me up.

I'm a serial monogamist.

I'm very affected by what I watch and read.

It's celebrated in British culture to be eccentric.

My denim jacket had 'I love GNR' and 'I love AC/DC' written all over it, but I always came back to swing.

My favourite authors are Milan Kundera and Jeanette Winterson.

Sometimes people fear the truth. They'd rather not speak to you than know what you really think.

There are lots of beautiful areas in England, and I am lucky enough to live in a stunning part of a very beautiful area.

When you're on the pop treadmill, you don't always feel that cool because you have to do things to promote the record that aren't necessarily your environment.

Working with Terry Gilliam was magic - I've been watching his films since I was little.

You cannot schedule death.

I'm not a downtrodden woman. I just won't be.

I'm proud of being British, but I think our aristocracy is overrated.