When Ricky Wilson agreed to meet me for a chat, I wasn't expecting him to suggest Finn McCouls pub in Falmouth as a venue, writes Matt Dixon.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't thinking we'd have a Champagne-soaked lost afternoon in an exclusive hotel room, interrupted by phone calls from agents and uneasy minders hopping from one foot to the other.

The thought never occurred to me.

No, it was an earthy pub for an earthy bloke.

The Kaiser Chiefs front man and former judge on The Voice looked ridiculously young in his 41st year. I made a note to myself not to pose for a photograph with him.

"I'm not a great host, so I don't really have celebrities coming to stay, although I think Keith Lemon is coming down soon. I don't really drink at after show parties because people would probably expect me to be a bit wild. You have to keep up appearances," he smiled, over a glass of red wine.

The Leeds heartthrob (he'll hate me calling him that) first fell in love with Falmouth when a holiday to Turkey was cancelled because of the Icelandic ash cloud in 2010.

"I came here instead and immediately thought, I could live here. So that's what I did.

"It's free therapy coming to Falmouth. Musicians are always saying that they need a year off, but actually what they mean is two weeks. We're the goose that lays the golden egg for record companies, so taking too much time off is not an option."

He had been across the water to see "how the other half lives" in St Mawes when I caught up with him.

He was accompanied by girlfriend Grace and Reedus the dog.

"He's called that because my girlfriend fancies Nathan Reedus from the The Walking Dead. He was going to be called Tom Hardy but I didn't think shouting Hardy in the park would look too good.

"Grace likes Falmouth too but I think she'd probably prefer our holidays to be somewhere a bit warmer."

Unprompted by me, Ricky then mentioned the "'S' word.

"I think students are great for Falmouth. We wouldn't have half of the places here if it wasn't for them, they definitely bring colour and energy to the town."

Ricky splits his time living in London and Falmouth, but is making the long drive to Yorkshire every Monday and Tuesday to record their latest album, which is due to be released next year.

"We've been signed by Polydor again which is great. Record companies aren't in the business of doing you a favour, so they obviously like what they've heard."

He recalled one memorable trip to South America, when the Kaisers were supporting REM.

"When I met Michael Stipe (the lead singer) the night before the gig, I expected him to be a vegan tee-totaller, but he ordered a glass of red wine and a rare steak. I told him how much I loved their song Nightswimming, but he said that it wasn't on their set list.

"The next night, after we'd played, we went back out to watch them. Suddenly a piano comes out and Michael sat down and played Nightswimming, dedicating the song to 'my new friend'. My eyes were streaming."

Ricky, whose dad grew up in Redruth before moving to the north east with his father, who was a church priest, is disarmingly charming.

He has successfully flicked from indie front man to TV judge and back to indie front man, without any loss of credibility or notion that he's thrown in the musical towel.

And he runs - every morning - through Falmouth.

Some guys have all the luck.