The thing I want more than anything else? I want to have children. I used to feel for every child I had, I would adopt another.

When I was growing up, my parents were almost involved in various volunteer things. My dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that.

Up until I became a father, it was all about self-obsession. But then I learned exactly what it's all about: the delight of being a servant.

What helped a lot was becoming a dad at 47. I can't begin to imagine how I would have coped when I was just starting out with Simply Red. Gabriella and I would have been another one of those divorce statistics.

When I stopped Simply Red the reason was to bring up my daughter Romy. I wanted to be a dad that was around.

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!