We wore our safety pins on the inside of our clothes.

I don't want to wreck my voice. I love to concentrate on playing the bass and keeping it very rock-solid. If I were singing, I would have blown out my voice.

Tom Tom Club has a whole different attitude and approach, not just musically but in performance. Some people said they liked it.

Art is not predictable. Art is not golf, as great as that may be. There are 360 degrees of choice to make.

It's a cruel, heartless world out there in commercial rock 'n' roll, and when you take as much time off as we did, eight years, booking agents don't know if you'll draw.

I have respect for those who make money at art and do it well and smartly, because that commercial aspect keeps the world going and running, in a sense.

We always thought the Tom Tom Club could change to anything, but it acquired this image, which was cartoon animation and this real light-hearted dance music.