I grew up in a village called Warsash in Hampshire. It was idyllic – there were church bells, morris dancers and local carnivals. I had a very traditional upbringing with my mum and dad, brother and sister.

My father, Chris, was a GP at a time when they were at the beck and call of anyone at any time, so life revolved around that. There were numerous Christmas days when he would rush off to some emergency. Even now he has retired he never sits down and I think I have inherited that – after five minutes in a deckchair I feel uncomfortable.

My mum was a midwife until she had children; she was the gentle one. My dad was quite strict. We weren’t alllowed to watch television – we might sneak in a quick episode of Neighbours, but when we heard our father’s car we would switch it off and pretend we were practising the piano. There were always jobs to be done and although I probably resented it at the time, it has instilled a work ethic in me.

Until I was 14 we just did what we were told. We didn’t decide what we did with our lives or even which shoes we wore. It was “mow the lawn” or “practise the piano”. It wasn’t like we were kept in a dungeon, but gradually it dawned on my brother and me that other children were allowed to stay up till all hours watching TV at weekends.

When I was 16 and started growing my hair, my dad would say, “You’ll never get a proper job with hair like that.” Now I am 41 and still have hair down to my backside and wear scruffy clothes, so maybe it is a reaction to that.

My dad had a room full of instruments and two pianos. Then, when I was about seven, he started a brass band and we all had to be in it. Of course it wasn’t a choice. He marched us off to lessons – my brother played the trumpet, my sister played the clarinet and I was on the trombone, like my dad. He played a big one and I played a little one. We played a mishmash of music, from the Beatles to classical. My mum made all the outfits and collected the money. There were about 20 other people from the village in the band, too, and we would go off to France, to the town our village was twinned with and play in the square. I’m really glad now that my dad made me learn music because it has been very helpful to my career.

I was crap at everything at school but I wanted an excuse to go to university so I studied French at Goldsmiths College in London. Actually, I used my grant money to buy records and spent my time raving with my wife, Josie, who I met in the first term.

Now we have three boys, we have moved to the Isle of Wight and I am so glad we did. I’m not normally the one who makes the big life decisions, but I said, “We have to do this.” The Isle of Wight has a reputation for being in a time warp – with the blue rinse brigade and people sitting in deckchairs with knotted hankies on their heads. But I love that – it makes me feel I am a kid again.

At the moment we are touring round France in a campervan and I think I am turning into my dad. I think it is good for the kids to be without iPads, and to learn to be clean and tidy. I’ve not started a brass band, but watch this space.

• Camp Bestival, curated by Rob da Bank, 31 July to 3 August, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, campbestival.net