I started out as a drummer, and now play with a back-to-basics rock band called the ‘Luddites.’ I’m happiest when I’m behind the kit.

I don’t get recognised until I’m on stage, and then I can walk off and forget about it. It’s great.

I must admit, the constant invasion of privacy was becoming a real concern. I’ve been asked for autographs while I’ve been doing laps in the pool and even in the toilet!

I was the youngest of four kids, and Dad, who had a garden centre before he retired, came from a large Lancashire family. Every one of my uncles had their own business, including a post...

I don’t like flying. I’m a bit scared of it and don’t enjoy the whole experience.

I’ve been to Sardinia about 10 times because my wife, my daughter and I used to go every year with another family. We rented the same house each time in Villasimius in the southern part...

Doing things in my day was simple: you either signed to a big label or you signed to a very small label, and you worked with that one, and then they eventually signed you on...

I used to go to soul nights because I loved dancing, and so did my friends, and we loved the music. We used to go listen to black American soul.

It’s very hard to behave naturally when you know people recognise you. On the other hand, I still sometimes get upgraded in hotels because someone used to like me back in the day, which is...

I’ve done drives through Budapest and Oslo and used to drive to Sardinia, too, which is quite a journey. Drives are an adventure because I don’t plan them too carefully. I take detours depending on...

I’d had my time in the charts and made loads of money. I was no longer hungry for success.

‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ in 1987 was a huge international hit followed by several more, and while I appreciated how lucky I was, it catapulted me into a completely new world and simply took...

When I was still at school, I’d help Dad at the concrete yard he had prior to the garden centre. I was doing things there, like driving the tractors and forklifts, that most kids my...

I’m a person who tries not to have regrets.

When I was a tiny tot, we only had one record player in the house, so there was either Genesis on it or the Jungle Book or The Beatles as well, and various other things.

It’s really weird seeing someone impersonating you. But at the same time, Vic Reeves’ impersonation of me is one of the highlights of my life.

There’s some songs you can cover, and I’ve covered and butchered a few, but you can’t do them all.

When our daughter was born, a light went on for me – there was more to life than what I was doing. It felt like being famous for being a paint salesman. It wasn’t the...

As a kid, I saw those ticker-tape parades in the movies, and I was really chuffed to be in one.

You can’t explain the feeling of singing hit songs to an audience – it’s like being a genuine sports star at the peak of their powers.

Scientology always makes me think of that movie ‘V’ where that woman takes off her mask of human flesh to reveal her true, alien self.

Working as a teaboy may have helped my confidence, but not everyone else was so pleased. I could never remember who had milk or how many sugars, and I had an unusual talent for spilling...

Back in the ’80s, I was known for being reclusive, often shying away from media attention.

My dad loved Scotland, so we would pile into his caravan and head for the Highlands, to Fort William and Loch Ness. It was such an adventure – my siblings and I were allowed to...

I’d been bumming around in bands since my school days.

Because the pop industry is cruel, if you don’t do everything the label wants you to do, it has an army of other people waiting to do it.

I am honoured that my fans worked so hard to help me win Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Don’t expect fame to come overnight. That filtered through to me in my own career. Look at Madonna: she’s not the best singer in the world, but she’s got where she has through hard work.

I think Phil Collins is one of the most underrated musicians, singers, performers – he is absolutely amazing, I think, and I think he’s probably got a bit of a rough ride occasionally because he...

I come away from a gig thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m worth something.’ I can still do it and entertain people, and that’s worth it.

I don’t trust politicians. I think that by the time they’ve made it, with the concessions they’ve had to make in that position, I don’t believe they still have the beliefs they had at the...

My success set me up for life, and it meant that I could retire from the music industry at 27 to spend time with my newborn daughter and my wife. My time away from the...

I do have a thing for eating out; that’s one of life’s great middle-age pleasures.

I like everything in this iPhone, iPod world where you can do everything all the time. Back in my time, you bought a vinyl record when you were a kid and took it home, and...