‘I wrote it to get £400 off Volkswagen’: Aqualung on making Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put a Spell on You)

Matt Hales, singer, songwriter

I had been in various bands, one called Ruth and the 45s, the sort of acts that got to No 52 and then got dropped by the record company. I’d managed to buy some studio equipment but by the time I reached the age of 30 I was living hand-to-mouth. My wife

In those days you’d get paid just for pitching songs for adverts, so I…