-Are u nervous about tonight?
A little bit. It’s probably my worst nightmare going on TV with large audiences. I love writing songs, I love being in a band, but this isn’t exactly my idea of fun, playing in crowds and going on TV. That’s just one of those things I have to accept. It’s part of the job.

-So if u could be doing anything else in LA today, what would u be doing?
I’d be on the beach at the moment. We’re staying out in Santa Monica on the beach and I’d be there.

-Have u guys gone to any clubs while you’ve been in LA?
No, we’ve been mellow in the evenings, but we’ve done quite a lot of work. We did a photo session on Monday, we had this Internet thing on Tuesday, yesterday we did a video all day, now we’ve got the "Tonight show" and tomorrow we’ve got the launch party and then hopefully we’re finished. That’s all we planned this year.

-Why the "Tonight show" rather than another show in the States?
They r the ones who would have us. We were supposed to do "Saturday night live" and we got pulled at the last minute and Henry Rollins got the show we were supposed to do. They favored Henry Rollins over us.

-Have u seen the crowd outside the studio?
There always seems to be this sort of response for us here. It’s quite incredible. Actually, that Internet thing the other day apparently broke records, which is nice to hear it’s just amazing, the fanaticism. We’ve never been able to put our finger on why our fans are so obsessive. We do seem the band with the most obsessive fans in this business.

-The lyrics u write seem to touch a common thread in all of these people: where do u come up with this stuff?
I’ve always said that I write about the things that interest me and move me. I think that somehow touches some common denominator in people. I also think that the songs are ambiguous enough for people to tie them into their own lives.

-Are u still fascinated about religion as u were when u first started writing lyrics about it?
I always say I believe in God, somehow I believe in God, and I’ve never gotten past that point, so it still is a fascination because I’d love to go past that point and I’m never able to.

-When was the last time u were in church?
See, church doesn’t particularly interest me. Religion is more interesting than church.

-Were u raised in a religious home?
No, not particularly. My parents would have claimed that they were Church of England and religious, but it’s not like it is over here. People don’t go to church generally in England, it’s not a big deal. I think it’s just a slogan, "I’m Church of England". But if u actually put them on the point, I don’t think they would particularly go past the point of saying ,"I believe in Jesus Christ".  Or I don’t know if they’d actually even say that.

-Is it true that Vince Clarke (of Erasure) wanted to produce the new album?
He actually suggested quite a few times that he wanted to replace Alan and get the original lineup back together and we laughed about the first 15 times. But every time we met he kept saying it and made us think maybe he’s serious.

-Was he?
I don’t know. I hadn’t actually said to him, "Do u fancy coming back for one record?", I don’t know, maybe he would have done it. But I think our music has gone in such different ways. I don’t think we’d be compatible anymore.