Do Not Disturb: Tanita Tikaram

Bookish, Studious, unsurprisingly naïve, Tanita Tikaram sidestepped university at the age of 18 when her darkly sonorous vocals and "sixth-form poetry" suddenly found an international audience. She composed her second album in the noiseless seclusion of tour hotel rooms and has fans who write to tell her what they're reading at the moment. It is not your conventional rock 'n' roll saga – "but very larky at times," as Robert Sandall discovers.