"I could have been the nastiest son of a bitch you ever met, but I chose not to take that route. I did have that anger inside me. I did have that [his father's] laconic wit - but it's in its place." Having suffered himself from his father's clever tongue, he says he'd rather not use his own to "tear someone up". As in all moral dilemmas, he took his cue from Cynthia Lennon. "My mum taught me how to turn everything around: you just kill people with kindness. There is no need to be mean, nasty or cruel to anybody."