I've always spent more time with a smile on my face than not, but the thing is, I don't write about it.

It's a perfect day for letting go.

Hendrix was the first person I had come across who seemed completely free, and when you're nine or 10, your life is entirely dominated by adults. So he represented this thing that I wanted to be. Hendrix was the first person who made me think it might be good to be a singer and a guitarist - before that I wanted to be a footballer.

There's no hope of me becoming completely relaxed on stage. If I did, I'd sit down and doze off.

But everyone I know reaches a point where they throw out their arms and go beserk for a while; otherwise you never know what your limits are. I was just trying to find mine.

Nobody notices me. Nobody thinks I'm me. But then I look less like me than most of the people coming to our concerts.

There were only two times in my life when I've actually felt down about things and gotten myself into a full mental mess. One of the times was in 1982. I had a horrible time for a few months and felt pretty desperate. Then again in 1984, for various reasons, not all of them within my control. Since then, I just wander in and out of black moods.