The singer talks about sharing rations with the Russians, after-party toasties and his mum’s signature dish

I was an army brat who lived on army patches – in Cyprus, Hong Kong, Germany and as far afield and exotic as Yorkshire. Every two years we’d move with my father’s helicopter pilot’s job and I’d knock on doors and ask, “Do you have any children of a similar age?”. If so, you’d make a best friend for two years; then never see them again. In Cyprus my best friends were Canadians. In Germany there was lots of bratwurst and chips, but in Cyprus the simple Greek food was fantastic – Mediterranean, delicious and very healthy.

My overwhelming childhood food memories are of my mother cooking liver with fried onions. She was brilliant with liver. If she could cook other things, she kept those up her sleeve.