Quotes

I honestly think that if it hadn't been for that band [Cream], I would have had a perfectly respectable career in perhaps a more esoteric way.

When he joined Blues Incorporated they played a lot of "society gigs: Lady Londonderry's ball, stuff like that - because Alexis Korner was a hooray. We'd do things like Lord Rothschild's party: that was quite a gig. Ginger Baker, who was using a lot of dope at the time, ended up asleep in Lord Rothschild's bed, and I remember flouncing off down the drive and his lordship running after me going, 'Please don't go.' And the Duke of Edinburgh [Prince Philip] coming up and saying: 'Could you play a waltz?' 'No we fucking can't.' "

I was working in Italy on an American air base, and I got very friendly with a lot of the black guys there. And that was when I first heard Charles Mingus. I immediately realised that that was what I wanted to be: a bass player who composed. I knew that I wanted to write, but I hadn't put the two things together. As soon as I heard him, that was it.

Even Eric Clapton, with his tremendous solo success - it's still Cream that people want to talk about. He complains about it too.

Asked whom he regards as the best bass players in pop and rock history: "If you're talking electric bass, it's very, very simple: James Jamerson, Paul McCartney, Jaco Pastorius, me."

Most rock stars are very good at one thing, and no disrespect to that. But I would have been bored in five minutes if that was all it had been about.

I'd already been through marriage and had two kids by the time I met Natascha's mum, Margrit. We met in '79 and suddenly I had this whole new life. I moved to Margrit's house in Germany, we got married and Natascha came along 13 days after the wedding. We just got down the aisle in time.

Because I'd already been a dad and my boys were quite grown-up, I foolishly thought that I knew all there was to know about being a parent. Well, I didn't. No parent does. You make all the same mistakes. And you make some new mistakes, too. But, let's be honest here, I've never claimed to be a "great" parent. I think I'm an okay parent, but I'd put myself in the category of a musician-who-happened-to-become-a-father. I'm definitely not a father-who-happened-to-be-a-musician.

If there is such a thing as an addictive gene, then I had it. I had been getting through vast quantities of heroin for several years. Not sniffing, snorting or smoking it - I was mainlining. When the doctors saw me, they said I was one of the worst cases they'd ever seen. Obviously I tried to get off the stuff - I'd done acupuncture, cold turkey, rehab, sleep therapy, you name it - but heroin gets you like that. It steals your soul and takes its place. And let me tell you, it's not a particularly good substitute.

Unfortunately, I also had to spend long periods away from home. Because of some problems I'd had with managers and record contracts, touring was the only way I could make any money, so I was always on the road. My first family suffered even more from this, because of the madness that surrounded Cream and the aftermath of Cream, but I was doing my best - with Margrit's constant vigilance and assistance - to have a proper relationship with my family.

There are some of my peers - and I'm not going to name names - who have been awful fathers. You could argue that it's the nature of the business, but I wouldn't agree with that. Some musicians I know are incredible fathers. Like Keith Richards. A fantastic dad. You wouldn't think it, but, if times were tough, you could be sure Keith would be there. If you needed somebody to do the school run, Keith was your man.

Would I do another [Cream] reunion? Sure, I'd be there like a shot. Ah, but... you know how these things are.