The 5-minute Interview: Matthew Murphy, Lead singer, The Wombats

'I wish people would take more notice of pedestrian crossings'

Matthew 'Murph' Murphy is the frontman of the Liverpudlian pop-punk trio The Wombats. They received three NME Award nominations, including for best new band. The Wombats are appearing on the Shockwaves NME Awards tour.

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be ...

Doing a sound check or playing guitar. I've just bought a new turquoise Fender so want to get some practice in before playing live.

A phrase I use far too often is ...

"That's not very fresh." I generally use it in times of dismay.

I wish people would take more notice of ...

Zebra crossings, especially in London. They were put there with the intention of helping pedestrians, but drivers don't care and refuse to stop. There should be tougher laws in place to make sure that they obey this rule – it is a common courtesy.

The most surprising thing that happened to me was...

In Stoke a guy who I hope was a fan ran over to me and I thought he was going to hug me or something, but he picked me up and humped me against a hairdresser's shop window. It was a combination of heart-warming and freaky.

A common misperception of me is ...

Probably that I'm a really happy-go-lucky person, - whereas in fact I'm a bit more of a Nick Cave type.

I am not a politician but ...

My girlfriend is. She works for the Liberal Democrats. If I was a politician I would visit pedestrian crossings in London and fine drivers who refused to stop at crossings. – I am bitter because I almost got ran over earlier today.

I'm good at ...

Being unaware of things around me. I am observational with things that matter, but smaller preoccupations sometimes fall by the wayside.

I'm very bad at ...

Having culinary skills. They're on a par with a dying cat.

The ideal night out is ...

A meal with friends and family, having them all there as one strong unit and drinking copious amounts of red wine. Then going to an old-man pub with plenty of character and then heading into the darkness of the night.

In moments of weakness I...

Walk as far away from what's upsetting me as possible. Or I wind down and call my girlfriend.

You know me as a musician but in a truer life I'd have been...

A writer of some sort. I also used to love to play golf and got very addicted to it. In the end I quit because of the stupid hierarchy. There was actually a sign at one club saying "No dogs and women".

The best age to be is...

I can't answer that until I'm on my death bed.

In a nutshell my philosophy is ...

It's more important to enjoy the chase instead of the kill.

Faye Lewis