The Who got paid 4000 pounds during those days, but we always smashed our equipment that cost more than 5000 pounds.

Even modern English people are imperious, superior, ridden by class. All of the hypocrisy and the difficulties that are endemic in being British also make it an incredibly fertile place culturally. A brilliant place to live. Sad but true.

It makes me angry when people insist that I have a responsibility to do what they think I should do.

The fact of the matter is, I'm f**king brilliant. Not 'was' brilliant. 'Am' brilliant.

A lot of my audience are in their 50s. But they want me to pretend to continue to be pretending.

I'm only interested in rites of passage stories.

I think I probably would have enjoyed to keep my own private pain out of my work. But I was changed by my audience who said your private pain which you have unwittingly shown us in your early songs is also ours.