Doing the Best I Can' is a sure fire hit. Incredibly commercial. But what could you say about it? Catchy and good to dance to. But 'Nothing Rhymes' is different. A much bigger risk but it was lyrics people could talk about. So that was the one to launch me on.
The quality of my songs will get through to people. They are good songs. Lyrically, some of them are interesting: there's stories, a bit of humour. I'm very confident about the music I play, you know.
Lennon and McCartney became great songwriters because they were prepared to listen to and learn from all types of music.
Success isn't dependent on the market place, because I can't control that. It's about completing a good song.
I see myself in competition with Blur and Oasis. But everyone else just sees me as this guy with a history.
My motto is, 'You may not be as good as you think you are, but thinking you are is good.'
I used to play music all night and sleep during the day. I was very career-minded. The music dominated everything and anything that interfered with that, I put a stop to it.
I've always been a bit of a loner.
I always tell people that I went through long hair. I was a typical art school scruff. It was good then.
My Norwegian wife Aase was a Pan Am stewardess back in the Seventies when we met. She was very attractive, and we became good friends, but I was travelling a lot and she was jetting back and forth across the Atlantic, so it was a while before we got together.
The perception that if you're not on 'Top Of The Pops' you're dead and buried is a good one for pop music, because 'TOTP' is a catalyst or barometer for pop success.
I couldn't live without tea. I have two cups in the morning, one at lunch, two in the afternoon and one in the evening - Assam with milk and sugar. It has to be leaf tea - no bags - and drunk from a china cup.
I've always been interested in relationships and the break-up of relationships.
I've only recorded my own songs. I don't consider myself a great singer, so I wouldn't be comfortable interpreting other people's songs.
Technology has very little to do with what I do. I have a purpose built studio but all I need for writing is my piano and a cassette recorder as I still use cassettes.
The measure of success was writing a song, recording it and for it being in the hit parade in England. Success was about the postman walking up the garden whistling my song. I wasn't trying to conquer the world.
I know I can cut it with any songwriters in the world.
I am immensely proud of my Irish roots.
I have learned to avoid the coverage, good or bad - and it's mostly bad.
The music is the thing. I am not writing for critics; I don't want to become a personality.
