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

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.

Being in the audience actually looks like quite a lot of fun.

Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you, Tomorrow I’ll miss you.

It’s also not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that’s your pool of resources.

I believe that in the future meditation could be as commonplace in schools and society as eco-awareness is now. It interests me that an ancient cure may be the solution to a modern problem.

What I have to say is all in the music. If I want to say anything, I write a song.

A lot of artists use memories. A lot of prose writers, a lot of poets, a lot of songwriters, refer back to something. Generally it’s all you’ve got, unless you’re brilliant and can write totally in the now.

People saw me as just a singer – yeah, a pretty face who could sing – and not more than that.

Anyone who’s got a guitar, you like to pick it up. I can play a couple of songs, some ’50s rock and roll, a bit of Elvis. That’s it, really – I’m not a musician, I’m not a singer.

Because I came out as a singer, I took the time to get an acting coach.

They call her my singer – because her blood sings for me.

As a singer, you have to bring the soul to the song.

A great song can make a terrible singer sound good, but a good singer – you put a great song on top of that, you’re really in great shape!

A famous man is Robin Hood, The English ballad-singer’s joy.

It doesn’t matter if you want to be a teacher, an astronaut, or a reggaeton singer, you need to study.