KT Tunstall has said she was put off writing a memoir after a publisher asked her how many fans she could get on social media channel TikTok.

Ms Tunstall, who achieved worldwide success with songs such as Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, revealed she has started putting together a book recounting her journey to fame.

The songwriter, from St Andrews, in Fife, was nearly 30 before she finally got her big break in music after years playing with an array of indie bands in the UK.

But then an appearance on BBC music show Later... with Jools Holland, in 2004, which saw her perform songs from her debut studio album, launched her into the spotlight.

In an interview with lifestyle magazine Scottish Woman, Ms Tunstall, 50, said she feels now is the time to document her rise to fame.

‘I’m also working on a book at the moment – a memoir of sorts – which is very exciting. My debut album, Eye to the Telescope, is turning 20 this year, so it just felt like time,’ she said.

However, she added that her foray into the world of publishing has been less than inspiring. Discussing a query from one publisher about her social media following, Ms Tunstall said: ‘It just made me want to barf.

‘Why are people on TikTok the yardstick of whether you should write a book or not?

‘But it’s the way of the world, and it’s accepting that it doesn’t have to be a negative thing.

‘I’m always very torn because I like my privacy – but there’s a lot of really funny, enlightening storytelling around the journey of where I’ve got to, so I’ve opened myself back up to looking at it again.’

Ms Tunstall also enjoyed success with the musical Clueless, which she composed the soundtrack for.

While she has spent most of her career playing rock and pop in venues worldwide, she said her more formal training came to the fore during her work for the stage show.

Ms Tunstall, who graduated with a BA in drama and music from Royal Holloway, University of London in 1996, said working with the team behind Clueless had been a ‘steep learning curve’.

‘All that musical training I had as a kid is actually massively useful now as I can read a score, I can do arrangements for strings,’ she said.