Four years since his last album, Will Young tells Andy Welch why, at 36, he finally feels accepted himself

WILL Young is late. Very late. As you might expect from the well-spoken singer, whose charm helped win over millions of TV viewers who voted for him all those years ago on Pop Idol, he sends his sincere apologies, and when he does finally arrive about an hour later than planned, couldn't be more apologetic.

He explains he'd driven up from his house in Cornwall, where he spends much of his time these days, but despite setting off at 4am, lane closures on the M4 slowed him down.

His giant muddy boots rather prove he's telling the truth. "There is no way I'd be wearing those if I had time to go and change," he says, making further apologies for his sleep-deprived state, and for munching his way through a gargantuan bowl of porridge as we talk.

Young says his sixth album, 85% Proof is his best yet.

"Everything from the title on is really confident," he says. "Proof is a really interesting word. But it is proof that I am good. And I can say that and it doesn't mean I am arrogant. I have my insecurities, of course I do, but I am happy to say I think I'm good at what I do. I've been doing it long enough, my God, so I have to think that. I can't say to people, 'Buy this record. I wouldn't, but you should'. You have to believe in yourself, and your product."

He stopped short of calling the album 100% Proof, as he thought that came across a "bit too hip-hop" for him, but liked the idea of 85%, "like really strong rum".

"It was actually something my brother, Rupert, came up with while we were on a kick-boxing retreat in Thailand earlier this year," he says.

Young explains he used to feel a lot of anger, and decided the best way to work through it, aside from studying somatic experiencing therapy in Oxford, which he hopes to one day teach himself, was to take up a martial art. His brother felt the same, and the pair went to Thailand in January for an intensive break.

"I've just started. It was terrifying," he says. "You have the hardcore people that can rip your head off, the 22-stone American men that are doing it to get fit, six-stone women who are fitness fanatics, and Rupert and I were there in the middle, desperately trying to do press-ups.

"Anger is a really good emotion," he adds. "We're constantly told we're not allowed to feel it, and I never thought I had any anger, but of course I do. I've got a punchbag in every home now, and I'm always punching and kicking them."

When Young won Pop Idol back in 2002, he was still playing rugby and basketball every week, running regularly and pursuing any hobby he fancied. Then fame came along, and all that stopped.

"I was too inward focused," he says now. "That was fine then, I needed to be, but now I can do other things. I feel as free as when I was a teenager again. And it's helped with the songwriting."

"The industry is very different from when I started," he adds. "I called my dad the other day and I was saying I didn't know what to do, but he said he'd heard my song on the radio and told me to relax. That's all I can do, I suppose."

"People think they can say whatever they want to me," he continues. "'You look older', or, 'You look skinny'. 'I didn't like your last song', 'What the hell are you wearing?', or even, 'Oi, Gareth Gates!'," he says, referencing his Pop Idol runner-up. "I get it all. But after all this time, I'm used to it and I've got a very thick skin."

  • 85% Proof is out this week. willyoung.co.uk