Somebody should clip Sting around the head and tell him to stop using that ridiculous Jamaican accent.

I don't think I was ever particularly mean. I can certainly think of some idiotic exchanges I've had. I was accused of destroying pop music, like Wagner destroyed opera - a guy in Germany started ranting that at me.

There are many critics who have an idealised version of where my strengths lie.

What do we care, if the world is a joke? We'll give it a big kiss, we'll give it a poke. Death wears a big hat cause he's a big bloke.

People become so deeply attached to the sound of one period that they blow a fuse when you move on. I've heard people complain bitterly about recordings they haven't even heard.

The cost of living in sin would make a poor man out of Paul Getty.

Don't start me talking, I could talk all night. My mind goes sleepwalking while I'm putting the world right.