But a Bob Dylan cassette, given to him by his girlfriend's brother, changed the path of his life. "I listened to Bob Dylan and everything, like my whole world just went into the opposite - flipped," he said. "I stayed in the bedroom, I played Bob Dylan songs every day, I learned my craft, I decided music was all I cared about. "So that was a real turnaround for me, it was a life changer and I suddenly had my path." He left school at 13, and went on to form The Frames and sign his first record deal in 1990, the same year he became part of the cast of The Commitments.