That came from my mother. She was the biggest influence on my life. I remember once refusing to get on a bus with her because she was wearing a mink, and I thought we should be taking a taxi. She just said, 'Who cares what people think?' and I remember sitting on that bus, being utterly embarrassed, but knowing somehow that she was totally correct.

I am not a piece of hash. I'm in charge of Factory Records. I think.

Nothing useless can be truly beautiful.

If you live in Birmingham, then being awake is not necessarily a desirable state.

When forced to pick between truth and legend, print the legend.

Most of all, I love Manchester. The crumbling warehouses, the railway arches, the cheap abundant drugs. That's what did it in the end. Not the money, not the music, not even the guns. That is my heroic flaw: my excess of civic pride.

The special relationship between the region and a regional celebrity means that people feel that they have a special investment in you.