HIS STORY Paddy Considine, 39, actor and director
I'd been hanging out with kids at the rougher end of Winshill [in Burton upon Trent] until I met Nick at 15. He was from the other end of town, the one I considered to be full of snobs. Spending time with my mates on the estate meant getting up to mischief, so there was an appeal in hanging out with Nick and Richard, who'd introduced us. Richard's dad had recording equipment in his garage, so Nick and I would be there for hours recording adverts and dubbing them and recording our own little radio shows. We bonded over Guns N' Roses and created fake comedy/heavy metal bands inspired by Spinal Tap. It was the first time in my life I'd realised that you could do something creative and have fun without being destructive. I'd been looking for a voice, an outlet and somebody to listen to me, and my friendship with Nick and joining youth theatre were two turning points in my life that coincided.
Nick was a great influence. He was a steady, solid person – he still is. We have never had a hard time together or fallen out. He hasn't altered over time, and he lacks the neuroses I have, so our 24-year friendship has been smooth sailing.
Watching Nick develop as a musician and performer has been a pleasure, and when we work together [Nick wrote the song "We Were Wasted" for Tyrannosaur, a film Paddy wrote and directed] it's always special. When he wrote it, I'd just finished writing the film, and hearing it was a really profound moment for me: it felt like it was about us, where we grew up. There's a great joy in being able to create something with a friend you have a long history with. When you make that creative connection, it's magic.
What Happened To The Get To Know Ya? the new album from Paddy's band Riding the Low is out now (ridingthelow.co.uk)
HIS STORY Nick Hemming, 40, musician
At first I was intimidated by Paddy – he had a reputation for being a bit of a hard nut. Turns out he wasn't a fighter at all! I'd never met anyone like him. He had such a big personality. He was funny and always doing impressions and accents – I'd hang out with Paddy all day and never hear his real voice. Everyone always knew there was something special about him. When I was 18, Paddy and I formed a band, She Talks to Angels (pictured above), with Shane Meadows, and we thought we were going to conquer the world. Paddy was on drums and I played guitar. It was all rubbish, but we thrived in one another's company even though we came from separate worlds. Forming that band totally changed my life. Up until then I was quite academic, but I soon started attending the art college where Paddy and Shane were studying. My parents worried a lot. From that moment, the only thing I could imagine doing was music.
Paddy's one of the only people I've kept in touch with from my teenage years. Whenever we hook up, we slip into the way things have always been – it's an easy friendship, and not high on drama. Paddy's an inspiration, really. I'm quite introspective, whereas he forges forward and tries new things. I once went to visit him while he was filming in Dublin and we spent the night getting drunk. He was angry with me for not having put out an album I'd been working on and kept saying: "Just get it out there and stop thinking about it so much!" That sums up the difference between us, but also why we are friends in the first place.
Nick's band The Leisure Society will release its new single "All I Have Seen" on 29 July through Full Time Hobby (theleisuresociety.co.uk)
