Close-up: Just Jack

How do you cope with sudden pop fame at 32? A quiet night in with a DVD

After a string of low-paying jobs and a low-selling debut album, he suddenly found himself – thanks to a Jools Holland appearance and hit single, "Starz in Their Eyes" – in the foothills of the celebrity landscape he satirised in the song.

"I'm glad I broke through when I was a bit older," he says. "I watch 18-year-olds with number ones going mental, and I would've been the same. But I feel I can deal with some of the bullshit now. Ironic that I explained my reaction to fame in the song that made me famous!"

"Starz in Their Eyes" and Overtones, the second album, married a boldly British hip-hop vocal to catchy loops and melodies – and each came within a whisker of number one.

Now, with the seductive, string-laden "Embers" in the singles chart, Allsopp is poised for another breakthrough with his third album, All Night Cinema. The movies, he explains, are one of his lyrical touchstones. "The lines for 'Embers' came to me when I'd been watching a lot of war films. I like Almodóvar; his films have emotional endings that are rarely tied up. And I love Mike Leigh. My girlfriend bought me Abigail's Party for Christmas and it's fantastic." A reaction that's not too surprising for an artist whose songs, like Leigh's films, paint detailed social miniatures in pursuit of broader human themes. "On the other hand," he says, "I'll happily watch a rubbish late-night film full of perma-tanned weirdos on Five and still get something out of it."

'Embers' is out now; 'All Night Cinema' is out on 8 June on Mercury