I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity.

I look in the mirror and think, 'I don't look like a rock star.' I talked about this with Bono and we looked at each other and decided we look like a pair of bricklayers.

You may be wrong, but you may be right.

I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.

You've got to be hard, like the rock in that old rock & roll.

Usually when I'm writing, I try to write fairly quickly. If a song sits around too long, it starts to take on a stink. Most of my songs are written in one sitting, two sittings maybe. Those are the ones I like the best, anyway.

I guess some people in classical music can keep going until they kick (die) and the (Rolling) Stones are definitely pushing the envelope but I wonder if here's a time when you have to face whether you are as good as you used to be.