Born in Bradford, Tim Booth was recruited by British rock band James while at Manchester University in the 1980s. With Booth as lead singer and lyricist, James went on to sell more than 12m albums worldwide. The band supported the Smiths on their 1985 tour and reached No 2 in the UK singles chart in 1991 with Sit Down. In 2001, Booth left the band to teach the movement meditation practice 5Rhythms, before releasing his first solo album, Bone, in 2004. Following acting roles in Batman Begins and The Manchester Passion, he rejoined James in 2007. The band released their 10th studio album, Hey Ma, and embarked on an international tour in 2008, while Booth has also continued his acting and solo music career. James' latest album, Le Petite Mort, is out now. Leah Harper
Performance: DV8
DV8 are the physical theatre company founded by Lloyd Newson. Their work is incredible, powerful and quite punishing. The first DV8 piece I saw was called Strange Fish [1992] – it was the greatest performance, in any medium, that I have ever witnessed. It was mainly about sexual relationships, loneliness and desire – you can get the DVD. It started with a naked woman on a cross, crucified and singing this incredible aria, and it ended with them ripping up the stage and you discovered that there was water underneath. I've seen nearly everything DV8 have done. Newson was given an OBE at Christmas and the fact that this gay, cutting-edge genius could be recognised by the establishment made me feel, for a moment, really proud to be British.
Festival: Burning Man
I'm going to Burning Man festival for the fourth time this summer – the last time I went was my stag week and I cycled around in a wedding dress and a fur coat the whole time. Adults go to Burning Man to become children. It's a festival that focuses on creating amazing art and then, at the end, it's burned. It's about art for art's sake, with no commercial interest. There's no money allowed at Burning Man; you can't sell, buy or advertise anything. It's a gift culture and everybody's incredibly generous. I'll give you a story from the festival: during one Sunday morning dust storm, a Bentley pulled up in the middle of the desert and this guy got out wearing full butler livery, shaking a cocktail. He said, "Your midday vodka collins is ready for you, sir," then he poured us a cocktail, got back into his Bentley and drove off into the dust storm.
Book: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
David Mitchell is the most amazing author on the planet. I can understand why they tried to make a film adaptation of Cloud Atlas but you can't film that book. The language is too incredible. Writers are very important to me and I don't think there's a writer around like him. Cloud Atlas is hard to get into because it jumps between two time zones – at first, you don't know what's going on, but there's an accumulation within the structure that hits you like an avalanche about halfway through. I also read his The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, which was his second-to-last book, and thought it was one of the best books I'd ever read.
Theatre: Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes
Ronnie Burkett is a puppeteer from Canada. A friend of mine bought me a ticket to see his show at the Brighton festival about 10 years ago. I had the worst seat in the house, at the back of a huge auditorium. After 20 minutes, this old man puppet that I had got to rather like came on stage naked, got in the bath, had a heart attack and died – and I burst into tears. I was like, "What just happened?" I came out of the theatre and bought tickets for all my closest friends. Burkett won't let you have any interval – it can be two-and-a half hours long and you are stuck in that room. It's not for the faint of heart but I think he is a genius. He's a national treasure in Canada.
TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I sat through all 144 episodes of Buffy twice, with both my sons, and I think it's a masterpiece. [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon has been amazingly influential. I don't think True Blood, or Twilight, or The Returned would exist without it. Buffy was one of the first female heroines of that genre; now we're used to it with The Hunger Games. In the first series, Whedon felt he was writing for kids but then gradually it morphed into something deeply profound that Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, would be proud of. He did a silent episode, a musical episode… after that first series, they haven't dated at all. They're still quite brilliant and witty and sharp and poignant; they can make you laugh and make you cry.
Place: Big Sur, California
I've just come back from Big Sur, and a place called the Esalen Institute. It's a 120-acre ranch on the cliff tops, overlooking the ocean. They have natural hot sulphur spring baths, where you can sit watching shooting stars – or in my case, watching the eclipse of the moon. The Esselen people said the land was sacred and too powerful to live on, so they only used it for ceremonies and burials. If you ever have any doubts that land can have vitality, then this is the place to go. I discovered Esalen when a women from the institute rang me in about 1994 and said, "You're meant to come to Esalen; I see you here." A year later, I went to work with her and I met the woman who became my wife.
