Martin Rossiter is the singer, lyricist and unmistakable voice of Gene, one of the most distinctive British bands to emerge during the 1990s. Gene’s first single, “For the Dead,” originally reached No. 86 in 1994—but when it was rereleased two years later, it climbed to No. 14, becoming the band’s highest-charting UK single. It formed part of an impressive run that included “Sleep Well Tonight,” “Olympian,” “Fighting Fit,” “We Could Be Kings” and “Where Are They Now?” As Martin says of Gene’s extraordinary trajectory: “We took off like Concorde and landed like the Wright Brothers.” In this revealing and frequently funny conversation, Martin talks about the formation of Gene, the speed of their success and the pressures that followed. He discusses the stories behind the songs, the comparisons with Morrissey, the hostility and mockery he encountered during the Britpop years, and why the band eventually came to an end. He also speaks candidly about sexuality, depression, fatherhood, becoming a teacher and the very different life he built after Gene. Now, with the band back onstage, Martin reflects on what those songs—and the people who created them—mean to him today. This is Martin Rossiter: honest, provocative, self-deprecating and still entirely himself.