“There are two things John and I always do when we’re going to sit down and write a song. First of all we sit down. Then we think about writing a song.”

Look, people are allowed their own opinions and they don’t always coincide with yours. As an artist you just have to keep plugging on.

I’ve got to admit it’s getting better. It’s a little better all the time.

There are only four people who knew what the Beatles were about anyway.

It was Elvis who really got me hooked on beat music. When I heard ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ I thought, this is it.

Having a beard is natural. When you think about it, shaving it off is quite weird.

You see, my mother was a district nurse until she died when I was 14, and we used to move from time to time because of her work.

She is the rock ‘n’ roll queen. Weirdly enough, that is one of the things her reign will be remembered for. Queen Elizabeth I, we remember Raleigh; Queen Elizabeth II it’s gonna be the Beatles.

There is good and bad in everyone.

When I sit down to write a song, it’s a kind of improvisation, but I formalize it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I’m about to do.

I meet so many people that just sort of say, “I want to thank you for your music. It really helped me” or “It changed my life.”

I don’t work at being ordinary.

When you were young, and your heart, was an open book. You used to say, live and let live.

My arrest was on every bloody TV set. The other prisoners all knew who I was and asked me to sing.

One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen.

In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

I have not practiced how to be a singer without an instrument.