James Bay interview: I’d like to be buried in my Ghostbusters suit

Talented troubador: The singer talks fans and his favourite London hangouts

James Bay, 2016’s Brit Awards Best Male Solo Artist, is back, although along the way he’s lost the hat. “Those things have a life and death,” he says.

Still, his career hardly needs resuscitating: his first album, Chaos and the Calm, topped the album chart, and his new work, Electric Light, is a punchy, piano-laden follow-on. Hold back the river, sure, but keep the music coming.

Home is...

Islington, north London, a quiet little corner of the busiest city in the world, with the greatest pubs on the map.

Who’s your hero?

My girlfriend Lucy for putting up with me for 10 years. I’m so indecisive. She spends her life dealing with the fact that I only decide what I want from the shops after she’s got back.

Your London oasis?

Grabbing an Oi Vita Neopolitan pizza and heading to Clissold Park. There’s no better spot, even if it’s cloudy.

Superpower you’d most like?

Flying, because I’m terrified of planes. Usually I manage by just ignoring the windows. At least my powers of disguise have jumped up a notch; I’ve had a haircut recently and am not wearing my hat.

Best thing a stranger has said to you?

A girl came up to me in tears — she’d met me in a dream the night before and there I was. That was spooky.

What do your fans call themselves?

The Baes.

Outfit you’d like to be buried in?

My Peter Venkman Ghostbusters suit. I saw this replica the other day at a vintage shop in Los Angeles and had to have it — it cost $25.

Favourite Instagram account?

Christoph Niemann, @abstract sundays. He’ll take an everyday object like a fork, turn it upside down, draw a head on it and turn it into a giraffe eating a tree. I draw whenever I can but he’s the master.

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