Time Out at 40

See all Time Out's 40th birthday London heroes

How does it feel to be a London hero?
‘It means I can go on making music, you know, and not work in a Burger King.’

Who are your London heroes?
‘Judi Dench, she’s one of my favourite actors – you can’t say actress any more, can you? Damien Hirst, too. I look up to him a great deal.’

What's your favourite place or thing in London?
‘Hampstead Heath. It’s a bit of a cliché – Damien Hirst probably came up with something better than that. But it’s just so mad that there’s so much grass in one place in a city like this. It’s like being in the country; I mean you can literally get lost. I’ve never done the men’s bathing ponds, but I do go running quite a lot.’ Feature continues

Anything that needs to change in London?
‘The whole world’s one big organism, really, so it’s almost a bit xenophobic to start saying London needs that, London needs this. I think London does pretty fucking well. It’s a great place to live. I selfishly live here because I find the culture really happening, the art scene, the music scene. You can see any band in the world here. It’s happening, it really is.’

What does Time Out mean to you?
‘Time Out is a magazine that I buy whenever I decide that I’ve got some time to learn – I mean that.’

See all Time Out's 40th birthday London heroes