I've never liked the idea you have to be a certain age to be a pop star. I like the idea that anybody can enter, anybody can compete.

My heart, my lungs, my blood - they've all been checked. I remember one of the doctors almost being disappointed when he showed me the results because he couldn't wait to tell me what smoking was doing to me. But there was nothing there.

I think the best singers in the world, historically, are American. Britain's got its fair share, as well, but some of the greatest singers, ever, whether you're talking about Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or Aretha Franklin, are from the legacy here.

When I think of invention, I always think of America. You're always seeing ads: 'Have you got the next big idea?' There seems to be that spirit in America of inventions and inventors.

I look at him [son Eric] and I think of my dad all the time.... I was born to be a dad.

Thank God kids love following an artist. When you get a group who pop, it's the best thing in the world.

On one level, going bust didn't bother me. It was the 80s, and there wasn't the stigma about bankruptcy that you might think. My mates weren't bothered. My dad was in business.. he knew that it happened, too. He loaned me the money to bail me out, and I got a loan from the bank to pay him back.