Kayleigh Noele

I came hurtling into the world a whole two-and-a-bit months ahead of schedule, on the night of the most devastating storm the UK has ever seen, to the surprise of everyone; especially my mother, who was rather concerned that she had only paid for an hour’s parking on the car. Once the doctors had broken the news to my parents that at just over 3lbs I was unlikely to survive the next 24 hours, they promptly named me – like so many other British girls born in the mid–late 80s – after Marillion’s greatest (only?) ever hit: Kayleigh.

I like to think that the circumstances of my birth are responsible for my penchant for a dramatic entrance, aversion to tardiness, wilful determination, appreciation of 80s pop culture and love of a good guitar solo. But maybe it’s just a coincidence.