Ben Howard has asked to meet at a small cafe by the Serpentine, in Hyde Park. When I finally find it, I notice it’s near the boat hire and hope the singer wants to talk on water, if only so he can’t avoid my questions or vanish mid-interview.

Ever since Howard, 31, emerged from Devon at the start of the decade with an intimate, folky debut album, Every Kingdom — which surprised everyone by selling 1m copies and bagging him two Brit awards — he has balked at being asked to explain his songs. The few interviews he gives tend to be tetchy. During what appeared to be a mid-tour meltdown in 2015, he walked out on one; in another, he made it clear that