“Sean: When you started to delve into the New Testament, how influential was that on the way you wrote songs? I'm thinking particularly of The Boatman's Call (in 1997), in which there was a definite change of tone and, indeed, a different kind of song.

Nick: I think so, yes. When I reacquainted myself with the Gospels, in my thirties, I found the language so beautiful, it touched a need in me. It seeped into everything, especially my songs. There is nothing quite like the Gospels in literature - and the great human drama at its centre, the story of Jesus.”