You had to be an over-the-top, demanding, dramatic figure in order to progress as a woman in Europe over the last few hundred years. Now people say, "You're being such a prima donna," meaning you're being hard to deal with or crazy. It's a bit sexist.

The more hedonistic you were, the better...I very much subscribed to that as a young artist.

I just think it's better to have ideas. I mean, you can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier, people die for them, people kill for them.

To me, songs come of their own volition - and with an open-ended philosophy.

I have a three-year-old daughter, which makes me more environmentally conscious. For me, it's about the future.

For better or worse, I've always been curious musically. Whether it's opera or Judy Garland or pop, I've deliberately sought those things out. I've never wanted to do the same things over and over. Some think I've accomplished what I set out to do, and others consider me a dilettante.

I believe in freedom Freedom's apparently all I need But who's ever been free in this world? Who has never had to bleed in this world?