Q&A with Ian Brown

MARCH 2006, and King Monkey is swinging from the ceiling of his record label offices, grinning as he tapes over the smoke alarm for an illicit nicotine break. At the end of 12 months that has seen an acclaimed hits album, his biggest shows so far, and a cocksure comeback as Britrock's prodigal prince, Ian Brown is on an irrepressible high. For the first time in a decade, he seems like a man with nothing to prove.