Shack's songs are so expressive, and occasionally so intensely personal, it's difficult to imagine Mick handing them to a reviewer without hesitation. Some, like the impassioned junkie's wail "Streets of Kenny," leave him particularly vulnerable. Already journalists are dissecting, recreating and speculating on the personal drug history "Kenny" chronicles. It seems like dangerous ground.

"I don't mind, ya know," Mick says, and the affability continues to flow. "Because I'm quite satisfied with what me brain's allowed me mouth to come out with. I'm not worried about any kind of dissection, cos I've grown as a songwriter. When I was younger, I was a bit vague at times, a bit ambiguous. Whereas these songs get written top to toe, quickly without much work on them. It's quite spontaneous. So I'm really pleased - there's no problem about dissection."

"That was a time of me life," Mick says of his heroin days. "It's gone now. But I'm really proud of that song, because it was written in pure frustration and desperation, you know what I mean? I didn't really set out to write a song like that, but when it was written, I thought, this is very descriptive of the feeling that I'm going through now."

Mick sounds mildly shocked when he says this - it's clear that he's still blown away by the creative process. Apparently, the muse gets exercised even when his guitar isn't around.

"I write scripts and stories," he reveals. "I've been working on a novel for 15 years, and I've got a lot of screenplays and ideas on the go, which I do in me spare time, when I'm not writin' songs.

"I'm gonna keep doin' music, I've got all kinds of ideas for different types of albums and strands of music. But I think as I get older, I'd like to experiment a little more on the literature side."

Such ambition isn't as out of place as it sounds. A lot has changed for Shack, and HMS Fable is the sound of a band reborn. Even if it doesn't make Mick and John Head into stars, it certainly has helped revitalize their attitudes.

"I think the attitude has changed a lot," he agrees. "Not really a conscious effort, but we've gotten a bit more appreciative of the fact there's a crowd out there. It's got better on that level, more focused.

"The attitude [three years ago] was, well, if you don't like it, fuck it. But what I want now, because I'm really happy with the album - is for as many people in the world to hear the album, so that's the focus. Not to buy it, really, because I'm not really bothered about the money, I just want them to hear it."

Mick Head might just be the nicest man in pop music - unassuming, gracious, and disarmingly friendly. But you shouldn't buy his records 'cos he's nice. Buy his records because you love pop music, and good songs are more important than food. These are some of the best around.