Quotes

If you're a big successful band and things go wrong, you're going to get it in the neck. We were in denial about a lot of things too and there was a huge implosion going on within the band. I remember during that period when we were making one of our records back then and I was sitting watching telly, seeing bands like the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses coming over the hill. All I could think was 'Fuck, this is going to be difficult', but you have to remain strong. There were glimpses of light during that period and we continued to play live and enjoy it and also make money; but we were totally out of the picture. When you think about it, very few of our contemporaries have stayed constantly relevant; U2 and Depeche Mode, maybe, but they are definitely the exception.

[on Peter Gabriel] A great influence on our music and also on our politics. The first time I ever went to a rock concert this guy was on stage. He was a personal hero of mine and he still is.

[when asked by a fan whether he would record an acoustic album along the lines of Marillion's "Less is More"] Marillion???????????????? Do me a favour guv!!!!!!

Like most classic bands, we only do an album every three or four years but that leaves a lot of down-time. And I don't like down time.

I remember getting a credit card and I didn't use it for a month because I didn't know what to do with it and I felt like an idiot. But the idea that I could go and buy, never mind a jacket, but three jackets in different colours was amazing. But listen, we would've done this for nothing. We would've paid you to let us do this.

I don't think you are ever prepared for success with bands like Simple Minds and U2. It wasn't until your fourth or fifth album that you really got that big-league success. It doesn't happen overnight, so you get used to it.

We have always been a big success as parents and I get on well, always have, with my exes - and had to because there were kids involved. Obviously they've had their own lives and their own marriages, as I have, but there's a knowing closeness. They are still family, really. When the pressure's on, you group together and that's when you get a call and talk things through. I haven't seen Patsy for a while but I texted her just a couple of days ago.

I hit 40 and thought: 'This is no big deal.' I would be lying, though, if I didn't say the fifties are a bit different. But I feel rejuvenated in that the work I'm doing is great. Everyone goes: 'Age doesn't matter.' Age does matter. You don't have as much time left but it is what it is.

I think Bob Geldof and Bono are really genuine. You might not always agree with how people go about things but it's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticise.

Is it a coincidence that, in terms of sales, the socially conscious bands are also the biggest bands? Look at Sting, U2, Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen). People want more than wallpaper music. Rock music is a brilliant vehicle. It is trivialised a lot, but in its pure sense, it is really folk music: music to people, about people. If we use it for its entertainment value only, we are only using 60% to 70% of its potential.

Charlie Burchill and I are on the record as being big, big Genesis fans. Having said that, I watched a documentary on them a couple of weeks ago on BBC Four and indeed I would have hated to be in a band with most of the guys! They talk about Peter's (Peter Gabriel) nonsense in terms of the way he dressed up but I thought to myself: "Pal, you'd be in Camel if it wasnae for him!"