Quotes

I have actually talked to Dave Rotheray about getting our catalogue nationalised, about putting it forward to David Cameron and saying, 'Nationalise this', and testing them, because it would bring money into the country, it would bring revenue into the country. I've already been paid sufficiently for my job as a pop singer and why don't they nationalise it? They wouldn't nationalise it because they refuse to nationalise things. Safe bet really.

It shows where our politics are as a nation when the Daily Mail isn't sure who to back. (Speaking in 2010)

The opportunity to release slightly controversial songs comes from not selling records as well. It's been brilliant for me and Jacqui to be able to sing "Phil Collins must die!" and for the record company not to raise an eyebrow.

My rough plan is to go somewhere cold and miserable to write lyrics, and somewhere warm to write the music. When people say your lyrics are quite dark, well, it's simple. I go to Hull in the middle of winter to write them, and then to Gran Canaria in the summer for the tunes.

I can't stop Cameron [David Cameron] liking one of my albums, but who can stop him and his mates destroying the NHS?

Well, apparently David Cameron likes London 0 Hull 4. Which part of the attack on his policies and rich friends did he like best???

It's not our system that overpays musicians, because I am overpaid. It's not our system that overpays footballers. People always blame the worker in these situations and I am the worker, I'm employed by Virgin/EMI. They blame me and they blame the footballer. It's not the footballer who's poured all the money into the game, it's capitalism. That's what's happened. Capitalism is trying to corrupt you and it's because of my understanding of capitalism that I took the step to become a co-operative, because I knew money would corrupt me.

I do believe that you should live modestly as a socialist. Without a doubt. I live in a short road, terraced house. No back garden, just a back yard. It's not crazy, it's part of my politics, it's part of my make-up.

Capitalism corrupts people and I'm unique in the sense that I feel uncorrupted and uncorruptable for the rest of my life.

There's more champagne Christians than there is champagne socialists. If you look at the teachings of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Karl Marx, they're not so far apart. And they're also suggesting to the followers of both faiths that you should live modestly.

I have a nice family living across the street from me called Mike and Melissa, who have five children, and they're Christians, and they live by the book, and they run their own little church and they live modestly. But yet you look at other Christians who are very, very rarely picked up on and they are spending money willy-nilly and it's absolutely sinful.