Tim Booth almost "got in a fight" with Nick Cave after he "pretended to be a journalist" in order to interview him.

Tim Booth

Tim Booth

The James frontman has admitted he posed as a journalist in 1986 and interviewed the 'Red Right Hand' hitmaker, and says the meeting almost ended in a physical altercation, but Nick was "using drugs really heavily" and wasn't able to "fight anyone".

Despite the angry meeting, Tim says he's still a big fan of Nick, but doesn't think the 61-year-old music legend likes James very much.

He said: "Our music is nothing like Nick Cave's, but I always had great respect for him. I don't think he likes James at all. I pretended to be a journalist in 1986 and interviewed him when he was using drugs really heavily. We nearly got in a fight, and it was hilarious - he was so strung out he couldn't fight anyone. Then he found out who I was, and he slagged us off! But I still love him, he's one of the great songwriters."

And although the 58-year-old singer has many stories to tell, he isn't sure he'd ever pen an autobiography, because he doesn't want people to see how "mad" he is.

When asked about the prospect of a memoir, the 'Sit Down' hitmaker told The Observer: "A lovely gentleman tried to persuade me last year but my wife says: 'If you write one, everyone will see how mad you are.' I don't see how I gain from that. I have written a novel about a fucked-up singer in a band who sees ghosts. It's a ghost love story. But I hit a wall after 350 pages."


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