Badly Drawn Boy: You ask the questions

(Such as: how come you made only £1.60 when you tried your hand at busking? And didn't winning the Mercury prize mean anything to you?)

Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, began writing songs while working in his parents' printing firm. At 28, he released two EPs on his own Twisted Nerve label, gaining a cult following and a reputation in the press for his hats, onstage drinking and unconventional performances. Having won the Mercury music prize in 2000 for his first album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, he returned in 2002 with the soundtrack for the film About a Boy. His latest album, "Have You Fed the Fish?", was released in November last year. The 32-year-old lives in Chorlton, south Manchester, with his partner, Clare, and their two children.

What do you hope your songs will do to the people listening to them?
Liz Harris, Birmingham

In an ideal world, induce a spontaneous orgasm, but that's not going to happen. A lot of care and attention goes into the songs I make, and I just want people to appreciate that. But I haven't even touched the surface yet. I haven't had time to think about what I've been doing for the past five years. But one day, I'll have more time and I really will make a record that will be unstoppable.

Why the hat? All the time? Even in summer?
Rob White, London

Because I like it. I first started wearing it a lot about three years ago, when I was doing a lot of gigs. If my hair wasn't looking too good one day, I'd just wear a hat. I didn't have to worry about how I looked. I don't know how many I've got, but it's not many. I have only one on the go at any one time.

Your song "A Minor Incident" was chosen by Nick Hornby for his book 31 Songs. What songs have made a big impact on your life?
Jim Kershaw, Luton

Well, Nick Hornby told me that he started that project with "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen. Coincidentally, it's my favourite song. Just because of the timing, really. I was 14, and seeing him perform it on television prompted me to delve into his catalogue of music, buy all his albums and spend a lot of time listening to them. That journey taught me a lot of lessons about what it is to be a true artist. It took me a long, long time to decide that I was going to be a songwriter myself, but "Thunder Road" started the process.

Do you have fish? Do you feed them?
Anna Doble, Knaresborough

Well, yeah. I didn't make the title up from nowhere. But I can't say, "Have you fed the fish?" at home any more because it sounds crass; it sounds as though I'm promoting my album. We used to have two fish, called Cliff and Worzel, but, ironically, Cliff died just before the album was released. We replaced him with another fish, but we haven't given him a name because we can't agree on one.

In your song "How", you ask: "How can I give you the answers you need when all I possess is a melody?" Does being a songwriter feel like a big responsibility?
Tim Lumsden, Nottingham

One of the things I was suggesting was the futility of writing songs. I wish I could help more. I wish I could solve the world's problems. Although in a small way, you do contribute when you make music, because it does chill people out. Sometimes I think about sending some terrorists one of my albums to see if it strikes a chord with them and they think, "What have I been doing with my time, terrorising people? There's music out there. It's brilliant."

Are your kids showing any signs of being musical? Do they like your songs?
Jonathan Mailer, London

They're both under the age of three, so it's impossible to say. They're not constricted by taste yet. That's why kids are so great – they're not cynical or snobby. Certainly, I'd rather Edie and Oscar didn't clap along to a Gareth Gates song as readily as they do to one of mine. But you can't inflict opinions on your children. They both like sitting with me and having a bash at the piano, although Oscar's more interested in football at the moment.

What's the right number of beers to have before a gig? Do you have any routines before you go on stage?
Scott Little, Cardiff

I need at least an hour before a gig to get my head together and be with the band members. We'll just chat, listen to music and have a couple of drinks. It's not usually beer. Normally, it's a couple of Jack-and-Cokes before I go on and a couple during the set. It used to be more, but now that's about right. I get nervous, and having a few drinks is one of the ways of calming the nerves. If I went on totally sober, I couldn't get into it. I'd be too self-conscious. I'd question it too much. But it doesn't make it less real. As soon as you go on, you sober up.

How can you explain making only £1.60 when you busked outside London Waterloo station a few months ago? Had you ever busked before?
Robert Lloyd, Bath

The first thing to say is that it was for the video for the new single, "All Possibilities". It wasn't a publicity stunt. I had an earpiece in so I could hear the track, but I was playing for real on the street. There were no microphones. We had hidden cameras. The figure £1.60 was made up, but all the papers printed it. In fact, I made £13.74 in 12 hours. If that's an average, it's pretty poor. I'd never busked before. It doesn't appeal. It's the same as some guy walking down the street with a ghetto blaster on his shoulder, imposing his music on you. But I don't mind buskers and I sympathise with them if that's the kind of money they're making.

You were in your late twenties when you released your first EP. What were you doing before that?
Hayley Sands, Leeds

When I left school, I worked in a recording studio because I wanted to be a sound-engineer. I got sick and tired of that. I left because I wasn't appreciated. The studio nearly collapsed without me. Then I worked at my mum and dad's printing place for several years. Somewhere in the middle of that, I went to music college for six months and hated that, too. I started writing songs when I was about 20. But I didn't do it seriously. It just slowly took me over. Somewhere along the line, I turned into someone who could write songs. By the time I was 28, no one could tell me what to do. I told record companies what I wanted. And that's what I got. I'm in a position where I can do exactly what I want.

Who's the finest musician to come out of Manchester?
Sarah Ridley, by e-mail

Apart from me? Nobody springs to mind. I'll say Peter Hook of New Order, and Andy Rourke of The Smiths.

When you won the Mercury prize, you threw away the cheque on stage. Did you get it back? Wasn't the prize important?
Jo Lowe, Dundee

It was a knee-jerk reaction. A cool thing to do on the spur of the moment. I didn't feel that it was about winning money. The cheque ended up in The Sun, and then it got sent back to my management. I think I banked it. I can't remember. Of course the prize was important to me – I'd be daft to say it wasn't.

Badly Drawn Boy's new single, 'All Possibilities', is released on Monday on Twisted Nerve/XL