Famous aviator Louis Bleriot. My ditty on his moustache signalled a decline in the length of my songs from which I'm yet to recover.

Are my songs getting shorter? Or is it just that time passes more quickly as you get older? No, really, my two latest compositions are both under 1min 30s (although my newest one, Economy of Love, should be extended to around 1min 45s when it’s recorded).

What I’m concerned about is whether there’s been a fundamental and irreversible shift in my songwriting. I’ve long believed in short songs. That’s not to say that all songs should be short but that brevity is an aspiration for me.

In fact one of my mottos is: ‘musically and lyrically, get to the point and get to it quickly’.

Typically, my songs have weighed-in at around 2mins 30s, which should be long enough to tell a story but short to enough to avoid digression. It’s also a radio-friendly length. (more…)