POP stars don’t get much more honest than Elliot Gleave – better known as Example.

When he talks about his latest tour of smaller venues he admits part of the reason he isn’t playing arenas this time is because he doesn’t think he would sell them out.

“I’m not in the same privileged position as I was a few years ago,” he says. “I’m fine with it – things come up and down in waves, and I was riding the crest of a wave from 2011 to 2013.

“If I had done eight arenas I would have played to 60,000 people – I will play to about 60,000 people on this 28-date tour. It’s just harder work.”

He is relishing playing venues where you can see the whites of the audience’s eyes though.

“The sound is better and people can see me performing,” he says. “No-one is at the back of the room watching me on a screen.”

Now he is older and a father-to-be he admits things on the tour bus will be a bit different.

“Three or four years ago when I was single and having parties every night a 28-date tour would have been quite difficult,” he says.

“Now everyone on the bus is engaged or married with kids. It’s not as crazy as it used to be. I would be surprised if we went to a club afterwards on this tour – not that I don’t know how to party any more, it’s that I know I have to get through the next gig! It’s easier when you’re only doing 45 minutes on stage and you’re 24 years old. Now I’m 32, and it’s hard enough getting through 90 minutes.”

Example has just released his first album for major label Sony, Live Life Living, which takes a lot of its musical inspiration from the early 1990s rave scene.

“I’m going back and rediscovering the classic 1990s dance as a starting block for my own interpretation of it,” he says.

“I was too young in the 1990s to like or understand the music – I didn’t get into The Prodigy or Faithless until later in my career.”

His five albums have traced his own emotional state over the last eight years – with some of his biggest hits such as Kickstarts and Changed The Way You Kissed Me, inspired by break-ups.

As such he is finding it harder to write songs now he is happily married to model Erin McNaught with a baby on the way.

“I’m definitely loads more positive,” he says. “In the past there was a bit more of an edge to the songs as there was more darkness in my life. I’m now trying to write songs that mean something to me without being cheesy. It’s easier to write sad songs.”

He sees his latest album as his strongest so far in musical terms, with a focus on melody which sees him largely ditch the rapping which was a fixture on his early albums.

“I don’t think about whether a song should have this or that on it,” he says. “It’s like if you’re painting pictures and all of a sudden stop using the colour red – it just didn’t make sense to me at the time to include a rap. It’s whatever feels right for the song.”

He admits he will have to stop and take some time to think about his next album.

“The stories on Live Life Living aren’t about late nights, break-ups and parties anymore,” he says. “I haven’t been able to write about that, it’s not my life at the moment. I don’t know if people want me to write about characters. My last five albums have been me talking from the heart and being honest – I’m not sure if they want me to do my Ziggy Stardust!

“Once the baby comes I may be a stay-at-home dad, or focus on films – acting and directing,” he adds, having studied film direction at Royal Holloway, University Of London before going into music full-time. “This could be my last tour for a couple of years, so on this tour I wanted to play all the old hits, almost like a going away greatest hits tour.”