One of the things that gets me up in the morning is knowing that customer expectations are always rising, and I find that very exciting.

You can't base your life on other people's expectations.

If calamities had the weight of physical objects we should long have been crushed down, or else, we should by now have been hunchbacked, unsteady on our feet, and with faces full of gloom and utter despair. Yet my entire body throbs with life and is full of expectations. Each day brings a fresh stock of experiences and new dreams.

People - especially white people - they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me.

The last Simply Red album, 'Stay,' was good, but the first three tracks were designed for radio play. They were written to meet people's expectations of Simply Red.

Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you, but do not think of that now.