Quotes from Jamie Cullum


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I was thinking of applying to the 'Guardian' for a job after university. Yeah, I wanted to be one of the people who writes stories in G2.


I can't get enough of this guy called Baths. He's a total L.A. dude and really young as well. It's super-electronic, but with almost Hall & Oates-style songwriting. Without the context of the production, it could be super-cheesy, but it has amazing harmonies.


Having kids sets a bomb off in your life. It really makes you examine who you are, what you believe in and what you want to be. And that is magical for creativity.


I love traditional shoes. I have a nice couple of pairs of traditional Oxford-style shoes, a pair of Edward Green shoes, and I aspire to a pair of hand-made George Cleverley shoes. Mark McNairy, all those are amazing.


Now I have other demands on my time that are not flexible, I just can't wander into the studio at 2 A.M. like I used to. If I have an idea in the middle of the night, I will go and get the bare bones down, but mostly you can learn to tame it to your needs.


People often say that having a family makes you make safer choices. It's been the total opposite for me. It's really made me want to make bolder choices.


Some musicians like to decorate their walls with discs saying: '1 million records sold in America.' I prefer to put up discs marking sales in lesser-known countries.


The first suit I enjoyed was a Dior suit that I got given. I've never worn anything that fitted that closely - it was akin to 'Oh my God, I had no idea that a suit didn't have to be this wide.' But I do intend to get one made some day.


When I was at school, I wanted to play a piano, and they said, 'No, that's for the classical students.' There's always been this air around pianos, which can very often discourage a young person from having a go.


I've got no problem whatsover with collar bars coming back in. I need to look a tiny bit older before I can dress like that the entire time - otherwise I'm going to look like I'm in 'Bugsy Malone.'


I'm no longer a shoeaholic, but I used to be. I used to spend all my time on tour either buying records or shoes.


I think you realise how terrifying and scary the world is when you're bringing kids into it.


I never sought out a record deal. It caught me with my pants down. I was just a musician doing my thing, I didn't even send my records out.


I lived my twenties on the road, in all different countries experiencing this momentum of a career which was taking off in its own way.


Don't give tips to friends who are about to have babies unless they ask!


'Cullum' is Scottish, but I'm nowhere near Scottish. My mother is Burmese, and my father is of German, Jewish, English ancestry.


A studio allows you to indulge your untidiness and your penchant for toys and curiosities that really wouldn't work in a grown-up house.


You're only famous in the eyes of others. Inside, you're still the same, and not a hundred million records or TV shows can change that. I think the only pitfall of fame is believing that it means something, and behaving like that.


The last time I went to a festival without a hat, two things happened. One: I got sunstroke. Secondly, I had to buy what can only be described as a Jamiroquai hat, which was sartorially incorrect - I'm saying that as a Jamiroquai fan. That was a disaster. I looked like a small clown.


One of the beautiful things about having kids is I had no idea how much it will make you look into yourself and who you are and what you believe in and what your past was like and all that kind of stuff. I think it's made me really look at life in a much more intense way.