MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC!!! Writing, playing and listening. Sport of any kind, the movies, all kinds of books, travel adventures
Barney Sumner from New Order (my all-time favourite band), Ian Curtis from Joy Division (if only I could bring him back), Jarvis Cocker (because in his own way he's an incredibly cool guy, and also because my wife's got an overwhelming fixation on him and I need to get some tips off him to understand how he does what he does), Harrison Ford (he's been in so many of my favourite films), John Peel (would love to have chewed his ear about music and life)...
Way too many to mention really...but I've had a think and I'd have to say my biggest influences are...New Order, Joy Division, U2, Radiohead, James, Stone Roses, Beatles, Coldplay, REM, Depeche Mode, Moby, Editors, Killers....
Bladerunner, Leon, Spiderman 2, Stand By Me, the original Star Wars Trilogy, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dead Poet's Society, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Twelve Monkeys, Alien, Aliens, Event Horizon, The Terminator to name the first memorable ones that came into my head...again I'll have more of a think about it...Tell No One, Touching The Void...
Lost (I know, but I'm hooked I'm afraid!) and CSI (but remember the Vegas version is the original and the best, though I quite like CSI: NY too.....but CSI: Miami is just way too much of a cliche...makes me laugh at times when I'm sure it's unintended). Otherwise, I hardly watch much TV!
A lot of stuff by Stephen King (It and Different Seasons being my favourites), Paulo Coelho, Harlen Coben (though he's never quite matched the brilliance of Tell No One in my opinion...on the subject of Tell No One, it's the best thriller I've ever read, and I recently watched the film version too which was brilliant), Bill Bryson, Robert Ludlum...A Boy Called It by Dave Pelzer was pretty inspiring...Blink by Malcolm Gladwell has recently been giving me plenty of food for thought too...
My Dad, no question about it - he's a calming influence on me :-) ...also Mr Steve Bull, Mr Ian Botham, Mr John Lennon, Mr Paul Hewson