I'm proud by not being frustrated, jealous or too confused by remaining creative. It's very easy to give up, and to keep going and sticking to your own ethos is very difficult.

I can't function without coffee and I cannot refuse chocolate. Drink I gave up years ago and don't miss it in the slightest. But I think I'd collapse without coffee.

Your leadership depends on you. You can only be a great leader when you can lead yourself well first.

Do it yourself. Keep going. Many people have said these things to me many times and both are good pieces of advice. I like getting on with things.

The process of creativity, absorbing aspects of life and channeling it into something shared or tangible - that's my ideal brain food. The irony to this is that the more creative I have became, the less I listen to of other peoples music.

There's no such thing as the greatest album ever. There's no greatest book, greatest human, greatest movie. At a push, the closest record to perfection I know is What's Going On by Marvin Gaye or The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds but possibly because they are widely recognized as such.

The best thing I ever bought will always be the next piece of musical equipment. I'm always interested in new techniques and there seems to be a never ending supply of great equipment to play, and to play with. My studio is a bit of a playroom.