No seriously... when there`s families, you tend to go back to your room after the gig rather than go for a drink with the other guys. But there`s always someone who`s got something going, like the tour manager.

If Miles Davis hadn`t died it would have been interesting to do an album with him, but there wasn`t much else that would have got me into the studio... although Herbie Hancock has just been in touch about doing something and that would be an interesting combination.

I`ll have the music, and then I`ll just turn the microphone on, press Play and Record and sing. And whatever comes out ends up being the melody.

You know, a song is like a kid. You bring it up. And sometimes something you thought was going to be fantastic, by the time it`s finished, is a bit of a disappointment.

I have to say that the whole thing that has arisen in recent times of me being the epitome of `the great musical evil`, and to be avoided at all costs, is both curious and disturbing to me. Why I have been chosen for this role is a little beyond me. It seems that it`s started by an anonymous voice and seconded by others without question. Somehow, some way, I have become "worse" than Cliff (Cliff Richard) or Barry Manilow. (Speaking in 2005)

I won`t/can`t take the glory or the blame for what Genesis did musically. We wrote as a band and we lived with that music for 4/5 months working on it together. I`d like to see someone try to push Tony Banks into doing something he doesn`t want to do! Just doesn`t happen. Same with all the records actually.....all responsible for everything broadly speaking.

I do that in whatever language of the country I`m in, because the audience appreciate it.

I usually hang around the room listening to a bit of last night`s show. If there`s one available, I go to the steam room every day for my voice. I spend half an hour there and then I eat, because I can`t eat later than four o`clock. Then I go for a soundcheck. That`s my day.

Catering on planes, like on British Rail, is a standing joke, but I don`t really have a problem with it. I don`t quite know what people expect.

I remember flying with Air India to New York quite a few years ago now and I love Indian food, so the fact that I had a curry on board was fantastic.

It should go without saying I suppose that looked at through British Media Eyes circa 2004, my appearance anywhere on anything will be open to ridicule and instant dismissal. Please don`t get me wrong...I really don`t expect everyone to like what I do, but it`s the sheer predictability of it all. I just don`t understand why suddenly there is this tidal wave of abuse !! It seems it`s impossible to open a newspaper without reading some crap or other. I know too that it shouldn`t all be believed but.... I keep out of the way and am good with children, I play well with others !!! I know I`ve never been hip, and most critics have had trouble with the music, but now it seems everyone out there who writes for a journal actively hates what I do !!! Quite disturbing and mystifying and it`s pissing me off...sorry about that.

When I go on Japanese Airlines, I really love it because I like Japanese food.

I`m usually going to make a record, finish a record, start a record or start a tour or between tours.

They are without doubt the yardstick by which I judge modern songwriting. Forget that it`s "old".... it has rarely been equalled and even with the Great Pretenders Oasis vying for their crown... it`s not happening. It`s not that I`m a nostalgia freak.... they were just great writers, with a great producer, at the right time, with the right noise. I have bought many CDs of the `60s bands because I wanted to have those songs but all of them pale in comparison when you put them next to The Beatles` stuff.

I`m an easy target, especially nowadays. You`d be hard pressed to find many in the media or the music business who`ll own up to liking me and my music. Especially in the UK. Although I have met a lot of R&B singers in the States who are very kind about what I`ve done. Generally speaking though it`s just one of those things that cannot be reversed now. One has to be philosophical about it and try to move on.......that`s not easy for me, but I am trying !!! (Speaking in 2004)

On the day of the show, I sit down with someone that speaks very good English and someone who speaks the local language very well and work out what I`m going to say.

The world is in your hands, now use it.

I`d like to grab an opportunity to finally lay to rest a much quoted untruth about my political leanings. I have never been a Conservative, or at least not since being a young teenager. My father voted Conservative, and even his doing that was a hangover from the 50s and 60s, which may have been an influence on me. I`m sick and tired of being thrown in that same old box... "he`s got money.... so he must be..." I once said that if taxes were put up to a level where the government took home more than me, then I would consider moving out of the country. The Conservatives were in at that point and I mentioned Labour... if Labour had been in, I would have mentioned Conservative. It was said to make a point over 15 years ago. No one`s asked me since. I live outside the UK purely because my wife lived here when we met. End of story. (Speaking in 2005)

I`m just trying to do things that are interesting for me.

The day Tarzan opened in London, I sat in a hotel room and discussed the project in detail.

Beyond a certain point, the music isn`t mine anymore. It`s yours.

I know it shouldn`t make a difference, but crossing the dateline, we weren`t sure what day it was - it was very strange. Now, I seem to cope with it better.

It`s very strange, when you live in London or live around London and get the music papers you are led to believe that there is a certain type of music that is popular and everything else is not.

I`ve spent the last year and a half going through a very public separation, hiding in hotel lobbies.

Often there`s a BA crew, because half the time we stay at the same hotels, especially in Australia. I can remember spending quite a lot of time with crews around the pool there. They always make themselves known to us.

And I would like to marry and have more children. I would like to try and do it right.

I recently saw a TV program in which a young, radical journalist was interviewing Ice-T at his home. And the guy asked, "What do you got in the record collection, Ice?" And lo and behold, all my albums were there. The guy said, "Aw, come on, man, what is this bullshit?" And Ice-T jumped on him and said, `Don`t mess with Phil, man. Don`t you fucking mess with my Phil." What can I say? I was flattered that the guy even knew I existed.

The difference between the American version of Live Aid and the British one - in England, if you wanted a cup of tea, you made it yourself. If you wanted a sandwich, you bought it. In typical American style, at the American concert, there were laminated tour passes and champagne and caviar. I don`t doubt anyone`s moral commitment to the cause, but the caviar and the cause just didn`t jibe for me.

Like last night I had a sequence with a gun and, to be honest, for me to be threatening with a gun and not be comical is quite hard.

Each thing leapfrogs. I do a Genesis project - like now, we`re just finishing off an album - and then by the time the album is doing its thing, I could do nothing or I could do a film.

I`m writing new songs for a Broadway version of Tarzan, which is very interesting. I think what I learned from the Brother Bear score side of things, I`ve brought into the new Tarzan songs. Thinking outside just guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

[About his Academy Award]: Ever since I can remember, I`ve watched the Oscar shows. Watching all those great actors, writers and directors receiving the Holy Grail. I never thought in a million years that I`d get a nomination. As years rolled by I was lucky enough to be included a couple of times. When my third time came with Tarzan (1999), I truly didn`t believe it would be me. When Cher opened the envelope and said "Ph..." you could have knocked me down with a feather. It really was, and is, an incredible feeling. Of all the awards I`ve been fortunate to collect over the years, the Oscar is the most treasured.

We stayed in some pretty shabby places in Europe.

I`m not trying necessarily to become a movie star; that wouldn`t be bad but that`s not the aim. I`m just trying to do interesting things and go into areas where I`ve not been before.

I like a fair bit of what the Oasis do. They remind me of Beatles (The Beatles).... a great band and I like being reminded of Beatles. If you were there the first time round, you might think the Oasis were a bit similar, what with that Liam and his attitude and his brother Noel... thinking they are as good as them Beatles. Fact is.... they are a bit pale compared to them Beatles..... I am, we all are.... Now Liam is just a clot... bop him round the head, and wake him up... Noel is smarter... but only just.... Just because they write a tune or two that reminds us of Beatles we swoon a bit and reminisce.... but it`s only nostalgia really. I don`t care if Noel Gallagher likes my music or not.... I do care if he starts telling people I`m a wanker because of my politics.... an opinion based on an old misunderstood quote. (Commenting in 2005 on Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher of the band Oasis, following a series of adverse comments made about him in the media by Noel)

To be honest, producing records interests me less at the moment and I really don`t want to get involved in album projects that are going to take up a lot of time.

When we`re touring America or Europe, we use our own plane and a great advantage of that is it cuts out an awful lot of time checking in. You literally drive up to the plane, get on and then drive off at the other end.

I can`t remember much about the early flights, except that it was ages before we got into First Class.

It`s always been easy with Mark, he`s a rock fan and we speak the same language. He`s a big Beatles fan too. We worked a lot via CLI calls, though only meeting up once every couple of months.

Another time, we had three days off in Australia, so we went out of our way to fly to Ayres Rock.

I`m tired of defending the fact that we (Genesis) wrote three and four minute songs and had a bit of success.

When I`m playing a song I`ll often think about how another drummer might play it, and try to be that player in my performance of the song. Often I`ll think, `How would Keith Moon play this?` And I`ll don my Keith Moon hat. For another song I`ll think about John Bonham, or even on occasion Stewart Copeland, but more often than any other drummer I think about Ringo. `That`s All,` from Genesis, is a Ringo Starr drum part. `Through These Walls,` from Hello, I Must be Going, is a Ringo drum part.

A lot of the older fans think that Genesis should be a brand name for progressive rock or whatever, but actually Genesis is the name for a group of songwriters who have always done whatever they felt like doing under that banner.

As far as I`m concerned he is a far more intellectual writer and person than me, and I have a directness that maybe he hasn`t. I love this man and his music very much. Comparisons don`t do either of us any favors, and in fact if we hadn`t been in the same band for 4 years 30 years ago, no one would even think of making a comparison. (On Peter Gabriel)

I`ve been amazed at how I was so welcomed by Jonathan Ross for example on his shows.... at the Brits.... winning time after time..... I find it weird to have ended up being the brunt of crap from the same people that welcomed me so many years ago. (Speaking in 2005)

There`s a lot of stuff there that music critics just don`t go for. To them, I`m some kind of landmark of middle-of-the-roadness, or I`m not edgy enough, or I`ve been around too long to be taken seriously.

I get kicked around by critics all the time. I can count on one hand the amount of really good reviews I`ve had for anything I`ve done - in 25 years of Genesis, 30 years of my own career - people have dismissed it out of hand.

The stuff that really gets me is the comments about my physical appearance. I guess it`s easier to write about than the kind of songs I play. I mean, I was called the ugliest man since George Orwell. What`s that got to do with the music? And, by the way, how ugly was George Orwell?

Many people think of me as a perfectionist, someone who polishes and shines each song and performance. I`ve always been bothered by that assumption.

[On bands copying Genesis]: I wouldn`t wish it upon anybody to try and be successful in this day and age being a parody of a band nobody likes anyway.

I like Weather Report, I like Stephen Bishop, I like John Martyn. I just like all different kinds of music and artists.

If people listened to Genesis` back catalogue they might be surprised.

I just don`t think of myself as a star. This is what I do for a living; I`m fortunate that I make ends meet.

I was keen to meet some of the people who have slagged me off, people like Paul Morley at NME and Paul Colbert at Melody Maker just to show them that I`m not actually what they think I am.

Apart from Hugh Fielder, I can`t think of any journalist who actually likes Genesis.

You put Genesis over there in a corner with Yes, ELP, Moody Blues and the Floyd (Pink Floyd) because that`s the period we happened to come up in. I don`t like any of those groups - so it angers me and frustrates me when we get compared to them.

No one`s put me in the same area as the Human League because they use drum machines.

I prefer black music in general.

I don`t own an Abba album and I never had the urge to go and buy one. If you`re just talking about well crafted pop songs, they were fantastic.

I`m not a singer who plays a bit of drums. I`m a drummer that sings a bit.