HE may like wearing a tea cosy on his head but don't let that put you off. Badly Drawn Boy, better know to family and friends as Damon Gough, created a sensation in music circles after winning the Mercury Music Prize for his album, The Hour Of Bewilderbeast.

Since then, the sensitive singer-songwriter with a gift for a killer tune has dipped his toes into more commercial waters, providing the soundtrack for the Hugh Grant film About A Boy, which included the single Silent Sigh.

His second 'proper' album, Have You Fed The Fish?, was released last month and looks set to follow its predecessor in becoming something of a radio-friendly modern classic.

Explaining the title of the new album, he says: "The whole album is a reflection of real life versus the incongruous stupidity of the life I now lead as a minor celebrity.

"So the statement that meant the most to me was 'Have you fed the fish?'

"The fish angle is symbolic of the fact that it's the tiniest things that need the most looking after, as opposed to the jet-set lifestyle that's occurred because of my songs.

"I rub shoulders with people that I've long admired. And that's the thing I'm trying to understand a bit more about and whether it means anything to me." PG

December 9, Portsmouth Guildhall. Tickets: £15. Box office: 023 9282 4355.