Singers attract fans with aspects of their own personality. People feel I'm passionate and obsessive. They know this isn't a profession for me, it's a vocation. It's not an egotistical thing, but something else. I'm in a dialogue with my audience, and that's something I need

I don't want to get too involved in marketing budgets, online promotions and download set-ups because it would be a bit like Gertrude Stein mapping out a TV campaign. I want to sing. I want visibility. I am essentially Al Martino, not Seymour Stein.

To me you are a work of art, and I would give you my heart - that's if I had one.

For the first time in my life the eternal 'I' becomes 'we', as, finally, I can get on with someone.

The Royal family to me are not England, and they are not the flag.

The Cure: A new dimension of the word 'crap'.

Smiths songs certainly have an astonishing afterlife.