When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their ears. I said, Thank God, something got their attention.

Music is the love of my life. It's a total escape from reality. Music transports you to another place, someplace unexpected and meaningful.

The truth is there was a golden era in music from 1962 to 1978 - after that it all went a bit tits up. I blame the fucking drum machine and the fucking shoulder pads of the 1980s.

I don't feel connected to the whole vision of the record in the same way-it's got all these characters. The point of view of "Love Earth" and the point of view of "Break the Chain" are so different. It's not the same thing, but it is the same thing.

In my songs, I try to look through someone else's eyes, and I want to give the audience a feeling more than a message.

People, whether they know it or not, like their blues singers miserable. They like their blues singers to die afterwards.