You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service.

This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker.

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I do hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker.

My guest today is a survivor in a world which prizes change, novelty and passing fashion far more than

longevity. Back in the late 1980s, Brett Anderson took himself to London from his home in a non-descript

English town and set out to be somebody in rock and roll. By his own admission, he'd only limited musical talent,

but he had stage presence, a dark, androgynous brooding style, and a distinctive voice.

By 1993, the band he formed, Swade, had become the darlings of the music critics, hailed as the

best band in Britain, and the era of so-called

Britpop was effectively launched. Truth be told, Swade never made it as big as some of their

rivals. The band had internal issues. Drugs took their toll and in 2003 they broke up. But Brett Anderson was not done with music or

with Swade. In 2010, they reformed and began to make some of their most critically acclaimed albums.

In the transient world of rock and roll, Brett Anderson's music has proved to be both

distinctive and enduring. So what's kept him going?

Well, he joins me now.

Brett Anderson, welcome to Hard Talk.

Thank you very much.

Let me to be here.

You've just written your second memoir,

which takes us right through your music career,

...