Sinead O’Connor was our generation’s Nina Simone. Like Nina, she wasn’t afraid to put her career on the line in by speaking truth to power. Like Nina she was an excellent songwriter and innovative collaborator. Again, like Nina, she was one of the greatest ever interpretive singers. Any song she chose, from Irish folk standards like “Cockles and Mussels” to Prince’s “Nothing Compares” would take on an entirely new meaning, as she exposed a song’s innermost beauty and power. So imagine how we felt when she said she wanted to sing one of our songs. The song started with the lead guitar riff that I jammed onstage over a loop provided by Pandit G.

The title came to me in a dream that I later found out was part of Indian folklore. The song really took shape after I heard about the case of Zoora Shah, a woman wrongly imprisoned for being forced to take action against a deeply abusive husband. I was moved to write the lyrics after hearing a speech by her daughter, Naz, now a Labour MP. I wrote the chords in a downtempo jazz style influence by The Specials’ third album though of course Dr Das’ bass and Adrian Sherwood’s production took the song to incredible heights. Plus of course Sonia Mehta’s soaring alaap vocals. It was Adrian who played mine and Sonia’s demo to Sinead. I still can’t believe she’s gone.