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."

My dad knew I was mad about music. While he worked as a barber he would hear songs on the radio and we'd have endless discussions about them. So I got my first record player when I was 11 years old.

Life is a journey that's measured not in miles or years but in experiences, and the route your life takes is built not of roads but of songs.

In Liverpool we'd only done one-hour sessions. In Hamburg we had to play for eight hours. We played very loud, bang, bang, all the time. The Germans loved it.

I first sang 'Holding Back the Years' in my earliest band, Frantic Elevators. When the Elevators split and I started Simply Red, I returned to the song and wrote the 'I'll keep holding on' chorus.

Singing, it's like it's like loving somebody, it's a supreme emotional and physical experience.