Most of my influences are from the past.

I felt that making records in a traditional way - putting them out in the same way, wasting loads of money - was just a pointless exercise.

I was about 16 when punk started to happen. It was so exciting. You had a social depression going on in the U.K. There was a sanitation strike. London was really grim, gray. You had Margaret Thatcher coming in. It was a really revolutionary time.

I'm much more careful now about who I let into my life, but I don't think you could ever change what you're attracted to. You can make choices if you want to be with those people.

Tweeting is something you can do wherever you are, on your phone, on the computer, in an airport lounge. It's easy to do, and I do find it fun to communicate with people. It's quite nice that we can have almost direct contact with anyone in the world at any time. I don't know how important it is in terms of one's career. It seems to be pretty much superfluous in terms of that, but it's nice to communicate.

I think being individual in the show business is what gives you life and longevity.

For me, I've gotten better at that since I've gotten older. I never was good at that when I was younger.