Page 3 Profile: Jake Bugg, Singer

A musical prodigy?

The Nottingham-born guitarist topped the album chart at the weekend with self-penned material, and he's only 18. The thinking tween's Harry Styles, Bugg's songs have attracted rave reviews for their honest lyrics. It's certainly hard to imagine Justin Bieber crooning "I drink to remember/I smoke to forget," let alone: "Skin up a fat one/hide from the feds". His chart success came at the expense of Mumford & Sons and Leona Lewis, but it's not altogether surprising. His single "Two Fingers" is on heavy rotation at Radio 1, and he is touring with Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds.

Is he outspoken?

In the extreme. He wasn't too excited by his chart battle with Lewis because she "probably doesn't write any of her songs", but trumpeted his victory when he was confirmed at No1. "It's my job to keep that X Factor s*** off the top of the charts," he railed. Modern music, he said, "mostly sounds like crap". On Saturday, he "got hammered" and stayed out until 3am. Before flying out to tour the US, he told a local paper: "It's the only way if you are going on a plane for nine hours to have a few drinks the night before. And maybe a few on the plane as well."

Let's hope he stays grounded…

He still lives with his mother on a council estate in Nottingham, but that may not be the case for long.