Nutini 'always talks like he's drunk'

We'd have thought that Paolo Nutini's management might have come up with a better explanation for his Swindon nightmare - he appeared to be so drunk fans walked out during his set on Sunday - than "he always talks like that", which has now locked him into having to slur his words every time he speaks in public for the forseeable future. Still, here's the official line:

Nutini's manager, Brendan Moon, said his client was just mumbling as he sang, and that the set was subject to several technical problems that made him difficult to hear.

He said last night: "Him being drunk is absolute nonsense.

"Anybody who has seen Paolo before knows it's just the way he speaks.

"He has never claimed to be an orator and he is not a brilliant public speaker, but he doesn't pretend to be."

Mr Moon said Nutini, whose debut album These Streets is now multi-platinum, had enjoyed "a couple" of beers as he listened to Sunday's [Celtic] match.

Mr Moon added: "Paolo probably had a couple of beers.

"There were also a few technical problems during the gig, but at the end everybody went mad - they loved him."

We're still amused by the idea of Swindon Oasis Centre being considered a natural venue on a "world tour", to be honest.