I do so much travelling in my work that my suitcase is always packed, with my passport ready. I rarely unpack, as I am constantly on the move.

Without the piano my life would be a disaster - nobody would hold me in any regard. It's the thing that saved me.

I learned from Van Morrison and BB King that the first take is the best. It's about capturing a moment. It's the same as love's first kiss. If you try to do it again, it doesn't work so well.

As a bandleader, I try to pass on the same family values that I grew up with: help people, hang on to your sense of humour, be tolerant and keep your judgments to yourself.

It would be great to have Bach in one corner, Bessie Smith in another, John Lennon in another. That's what I'd ideally like. A studio of the dead.

'The Tube' was the first time the plebs had gone on the television. The lunatics taking over the asylum.

Due to my work, I tend to stay in hotels a lot of the time, and I generally prefer smaller hotels, as you tend to get better service than in the larger hotels.

Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller are examples of poets, I think.

A good example of the modern world is the Eurotunnel. And mobile phones - I like them.

Naggers always know what they are doing. They weigh up the risks, then they go on and on and on until they get what they want or until they get punched.

Every book is unique and it depends what you think, not others.

#Cats are marvelous creatures - they either adapt to circumstances, or decide to make circumstances adapt to them. Either way - they win.

Your job is obviously very pressured.""I thrive under pressure, " I explain. Which is true. I've known that about myself ever since...Well. Ever since my mother told me when I was about 8.

Once I went to bed in Orlando and I woke up in Atlanta. I have no idea how that happened.

The album feels like a new era for me -- emotionally, lyrically, sonically. It feels fresh, it feels new. It's still me. It's still stuff that fans know and love but it's a new chapter 100 percent.

If you want to change somebody, don't preach to him. Set an example and shut up.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

The annoying thing about being an atheist is that you'll never have the satifaction of saying to believers, 'I told you so.'

Bad things happen, it's your job to overcome them.

When you feed the big dog, it does whatever you tell him to do.