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.

One door closes and another one opens.

What happened during the previews of 'Taboo' [musical] was that it was the first time I'd ever been written about as a great song-writer - I cried. I absolutely wept, because it wasn't the usual stuff like, "Oh, he was a drug addict and he did this and that..." It was really looking at the music and it was really complimentary. It was a huge thing.

In writing the autobiography, I can really chuckle when I look at the songs. I was acting out the part. I saw myself as a victim.

For me with "The Apprentice," it kind of blew out my business brain. I don't really think of myself as a business person. I think of myself more as a creative-type person, but it's quite nice to be challenged physically and mentally.

When I go onstage, I'm going to work ...I feel like my performance is about an emotional connection. I want to connect with people, whether it's like a romantic song or a happy song.

On Madonna: She's a gay man trapped in a woman's body.