He spent his childhood and teen years in the care of his grandmother, who often let him watch old horror movies instead of going to school. At 15 he began to write lyrics (""I like to rock, I like to dance, I like pretty girls taking down their pants"" "MixMag" 1996) At 17, he spent some time in prison because he bought forged £50 notes from a friend, who later told the police. In an interview, Tricky said: ""Prison was really good. I'm never going back"" ("NME" 1995).