I find writing songs hard, because it does not come naturally to me. I never set out to be a songwriter or a singer.

There are a lot of composers who were fantastic, but I challenge them to write a record that you could play five times a day for two months on the radio, songs that people will want to dance to on a Saturday night.

I was a latecomer to politics. Maybe I'm just very slow. I got to everything when everyone else had left.

I stopped drinking a few years ago, and drinking was a big help with me making music, because drinking gives you courage. But it also makes you reckless, and that's the trouble. You can get away with that your 20s, but not in your 60s, and I'll be 70 next year. Life is a small space now, much more intimate. I'm not out there in the world anymore, but I'm watching.

I think the people who did well, or are happy, in a youth industry, they define themselves out of the business after a decade or so.

What I like about popular culture is its accessibility, and I've covered popular songs because they are amazing things.

I don't find the business easy. The moment you start talking about the business, you start sounding like someone in Spinal Tap.