David Gray has had an eventful career. A full 21 years since the release of A Century Ends, he’s now back with a new album. The man who claims he owes his career to Ireland tells Hot Press how much (and how little) things have changed.

“It was very edgy and raw back at the beginning. It’s not the same now. I’m singing softer. I think the songs still cut it; the delivery is different, that’s all. I couldn’t say I’m not the angry middle-aged man. If you drove with me across London, you’d see.”

While some of his back catalogue can now cause Gray to cringe (“there are some songs, I go ‘fuck’s sake, that’s shit”), he still feels himself much the same as the young man who set out all those years ago.

“Back then, I didn’t know what I was doing or why, in terms of making a record and putting one out. I wanted to sing my music and hoped it was going to connect with someone. I did it in earnest. I’m still doing it now.”

Read the full interview in the latest issue of Hot Press, hitting shelves tomorrow!