I believe the Thames Estuary is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.
I did have a puritanical attitude about pubs and alcohol. I was teetotal until my 40s, when I discovered a rather disastrous taste for whisky.
I knew people liked the music, but the letters I got were full of affection for me. That was the most moved I’ve ever been.
I pepper my conversation with literary quotes for my own satisfaction. People either think I have a marvellous turn of phrase or they realise where I’m getting it from.
I’ve had a fantastic life. When I think about the things that have happened to me and the things I’ve done, I think anybody who asks for more would just be being greedy. I don’t wanna be greedy.
If I thought I’d see Irene again, I’d kill myself tomorrow. But I won’t, so I don’t wanna be topping myself before these gigs. I just want to say goodbye, really.
It’s a bloody good feeling being alive.
My wife’s death, and now my own death, have not shaken my atheism.
Terminal cancer has made me feel alive.
The idea of summing up what I’ve done horrifies me.
We’re all going to die, but generally it’s something in the indefinite future. You don’t consider it. We feel immortal, or death is something far, far away. Then suddenly – boom – it’s in front of you. It lifted so much off me.
When I write songs I like them to come out of that American thing but I’d never write songs about riding a freight train or that kind of thing, I write about what I know.
