Quotes

I suppose when I come to think about it, my musical roots are probably more European, when perhaps compared to most American rock musicians, whose roots are mostly based in the blues or R&B. I certainly have a great deal of respect for the artists and writers who, over the course of time, have made the genres of blues, rock and R&B into the popular musical styles they remain today, but when it comes to creating my own music, my influence has always been the music that stems from Europe's golden age of classical music and the period when the early acoustic minstrels were so much a part of England's cultural history.

The only music worth creating is music that comes from the heart.

I am very grateful for the success that I achieved, thus far. But there is still much I have to accomplish as a musician, both now and in the future. I still enjoy the experience of performing for live audiences and hope there are still many worthwhile things for me to achieve.

As a young kid learning to play guitar, I'd been drawn to basic rock music. As soon as I mastered the basics, I wanted to branch out. My attitude was: why should everything sound black & white? I mean, a great black & white photograph can have power all of its own. But why take away the colours?

In terms of good, basic rock'n'roll, I think the '50s stuff said it all - and I find it hard to be convinced that rock'n'roll has moved forward since then. Has any of it been remotely as good as Little Richard's 'Lucille'? I think not.

Punk wasn't a musical movement. It was a fashion-driven, media-hyped movement that was more about attitude than music. If anything, the punk movement marked the beginning of the end of development in rock music. It seemed to be a case of 'the more bad it is, the better'.

People might laugh now at bands like ELP (Emerson Lake and Palmer). Sure, there were times when we pushed the envelope too far and came unglued. But at least we were honest in terms of attempting to make music that was adventurous and new. We were opening up a new path. It's a pity that ELP and other progressive bands were stifled because we were probing into future possibilities.

There are only so many times I can listen to a song with three chords before I yawn and say, 'OK, next ...'

[on being kept from Christmas number one by Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1975] I got beaten by one of the greatest records ever made. I would've been pissed off if I'd been beaten by Cliff (Cliff Richard).

I feel old. I've just become a grandfather for the first time. Honestly, in my brain I feel 17, but my body feels about 104.