I think the thing that I realise now is that I spent far too long worrying and too much time listening to other people’s advice. The thing you learn most as you grow older is to become more selective about the information you’re receiving.

I suppose that’s what “maturity”, in inverted commas, is meant to be – the ability to have your own mind.

In the music business there’s a huge amount of bravado and make-believe so it’s important to remember the essential reason why you’re doing it. You’ve got to try not to wander off from your intentions.

The strange thing is that beyond a certain point you always have to justify what you’re doing. It’s not something to worry about, but it’s worth thinking about.

One thing that we did when we started out was that we didn’t play a gig for two years. We started writing songs when we were about 17, but we were very protective about what we had. We didn’t want to spoil the magic or put it under too much strain straight away. You have to protect your nursery in a sense; let it grow.

If I went back to our first album now I’d do everything differently. Absolutely everything. But the important point is that art is always a product of where you are as a person at the time that you make it.

One thing you can never get away with is trying to simulate the state you were in when you made something. You can’t; there’s nothing worse. You have to just let go and think that, although this might not be right for three years time, it’s right for now. Unless you do that, you probably won’t get to the place you need to be in three years’ time.

You stay younger longer than you think you do. And you get older than you think you do. I am destined to grow old so ungracefully. I’m going to be this ratty old guy with a huge bald patch, but the rest of his hair down to his shoulders.

For gigs, news and videos visit the Wild Beasts website. The new Wild Beasts album Smother is out on Domino on 9 May.

If you've been inspired by Hayden's journey to musical success, why not enter this month's Editor's Brief on the theme of Fame.