I had beautiful bikes and I was really into it. I just thought it was really glamorous.

But I was feeling quite down at the time. I was living in L.A., which was kind of weird for me.

I`m not really sure what it was, the best moment. You always hope it`s to come.

I like the second album that I did, For Your Pleasure, the second Roxy album. It`s a long time ago. It was my favorite overall album that I`ve done.

Performing was terrifying.

But I don`t write so much now, because they`re too painful.

I suppose young people think football is glamorous - soccer - it`s big money and the stars of it, they look good and have a great big house and a huge Ferrari.

I do not paint, no. I go to galleries.

I don`t do interviews at all when I`m on tour, so this time, on a day off, I`ll do that kind of thing a little bit. I don`t do big promotion schedules, not when I`m touring.

And I start the show now... I just walk out and sit at the piano. I could never have done that ten, 20 years ago. But I haven`t changed that much!

Oh yes, much, because music is just something that comes to you. You don`t question it.

I didn`t really want to give up music.

I`d love to follow the Tour de France one day. It`s a really exciting spectacle. I`ve only seen it once as it was coming into Paris and that was very exciting for me. I have memories of that.

I`ve had quite a few moments I`ve liked, so it`s good enough.

Women! I have no idea. I don`t know anything about women at all. They`re a complete mystery to me.

I mean, there are so many of his songs that I like that I could easily do that one day.

I like the fact that music is more abstract.

It`s not a very high failure rate if you choose people that you really like the sound of.

I can never predict what`s going to happen.

It`s fabulous when you do that, when you discover somebody who you like, when you kind of feel those feelings, even though he articulates them better.

In New York, you couldn`t wish for a nicer audience, or in L.A., Chicago, Boston. But when you get into secondary markets, they don`t have a clue.

I like L.A., but I shouldn`t live there.

I don`t think I`ve ever played the Olympia before, but I`m not totally sure.

When I stopped touring in the early `80s for a few years, it was a mistake looking back. I lost touch with my audience in a way and I think that was a bad career move.

Secretly, I wanted to look like Jimi Hendrix, but I could never quite pull it off.

I like the name Atomic Kitten. It`s so great.

And Mary J. Blige, she`s got all these fur coats and hats and stuff. She`s good; I like her.

But when I started writing songs, I stopped painting completely, and the only art things I do are connected to the career, like album sleeves and, to some extent, posters and things like that.

You can never get silence anywhere nowadays, have you noticed?

But I do like to have peace and quiet for a good hour.

All those rappers, they`re the only glamorous people working in music now. They dress up in these chains of gold, cars, girls and this and that, high-heeled shoes.

I met John Lennon and he was with his wife in Tokyo. I met him there.

The quality of the writing, really. Simple as that. Beautiful words. It`s very nice as a singer to do great songs, which have wonderful lyrics and strong feelings underneath the song.

But when you get music and words together, that can be a very powerful thing.

It`s nice to know that there are several different avenues I could pursue.

Words can be very powerful. I find them very difficult.

I like my own lyrics, but I don`t write as prolifically as I would like to. So that`s probably why I went into the whole world of interpretation. (On recording cover versions)

I like quality things. Yes, I do have a vast wardrobe, but it`s certainly not on the Elton John scale.

When I started reading Eliot, I really felt incredibly close to some of the things I read. I could feel this. It`s fabulous when you do that, when you discover somebody who you like, when you kind of feel those feelings, even though he articulates them better. He would probably be my favorite poet. Some of it is really beautiful and sad, haunting. Words can be very powerful. I find them very difficult. (On T.S. Eliot)

He was the best guitar player and had a great look and a great attitude. I saw him play when I was a student. I was very impressed. Very influenced. (On Jimi Hendrix)

I`m much more serious than him. He loves to talk! He has to talk the talk. And I tend to rather sit and watch more. That`s where the main difference is. But we`re both self-centered. I think we both think the world revolves around us. (On Brian Eno)

As far as the words are concerned it`s a bit like an actor tackling Shakespeare. I like finding the melodies that Dylan`s hidden away in there. (On recording Bob Dylan songs)

"I have terrible memories of it all going wrong. I`d put together an all-star band and the set was fraught with problems. We had David Gilmour on guitar and, poor David, his guitar wasn`t working for the first couple of songs. With his first hit, the drummer put his stick through the drum skin. And then my microphone wasn`t working, which for a singer is a bit of a handicap. A roadie ran on with another mic so then I was holding two mics taped together and I wasn`t really sure which one to sing into. It was a great day though." (On playing Live Aid (1985) (TV))

"The older I get the less I know about women. They are completely infallible and totally impossible."