In America, if you say 'Chris de Burgh,' they won't have a clue, but they all know 'Lady in Red.'

If you look at the big rock hits I've had - 'High on Emotion,' for example - the songs I write have to have a real meaning. There has to be depth.

As a song-writer I have always written with one instrument - either guitar or piano - because I believe that if a song is strong enough to be performed completely stripped down then it is a good one to go on and record.

Songs don't just suddenly arrive like a taxi you have to work on them and you have to put a lot of time and energy and self discipline into creating that kind of thing.

I have always had a long term view on records as I want them to be books and not magazines and newspapers that you discard very quickly.

I remember talking to an architect and he said 'I am making so much money I don't know what to do' - I am in a business where you don't have an idea from one end of the year to the next how what you are going to earn and it is not like a salary that you can guarantee.

I generally write the songs accidentally. They generally come out of nowhere.

I find it amazing when I get letters from people in Israel and people in Lebanon and they both love the music, but in real life they hate each other.

I've got a room full of gold and platinum records, a lot of them are Canadian, and I've got a very soft spot for that country.

Robert Browning - I like his dramatic revelations, his allegorical form.

I like to be subtle, without being too obvious.

You see, when I go on stage I perform with just a guitar and you have to have very strong material to hold an audience from getting bored or restless. One strong way of doing that is the story because everybody will listen to a story.

Canada was one of the first countries that took an interest in my career. Apart from a freak hit I had in South America, Canadians took my 'Spanish Train' album to heart and have stuck with me ever since. They've been very loyal, and it's been a long and rewarding affair.

It's tough going out as the opening act of a band especially when you're solo.

When I left university, I didn't want to jump into anything right away. Music certainly wasn't a burning ambition.

When you have children, you almost feel like you've made your contribution to the survival of the human species. It's your way of passing the baton.

I come from the school of thought that if you want to succeed and stay successful, you've got to put in the hard work at the beginning.

When I held my first album in my hands, I tell you, there were tears falling down my face. I thought 'This is it. I've arrived. I'm going to be an overnight world star.'

It's every songwriter's dream to come up with a standard.

Every generation has to have its heroes.

Americans are much easier to please than Canadians. The American taste is less critical. Canadians are more cultured, they are more aware of the arts than Americans.

In an outdoor environment, you need to be more energetic. The attention of the crowd begins to wander - not like an indoor concert where the audience attention is riveted on to the stage.

I'm not a big consumer at all. I'm very happy with enough.

Before I ever did a stage concert, I'd done hundreds of living-room concerts, which helped a lot.

I'm far more interested in putting a little more meat into the lyrics than some people are.

I can rock along with the best of them.

I struggled for so many years.

I think that every songwriter would give their right arm to come up with a standard that is going to be played long after they're dead.

Philanthropy is never understood by those who don't have it in their own hearts.

My mother was actually a breeder, believe it or not, and she used to name horses after some of my songs.

In my 20s, I got into giving people massages and realised I was able to encourage their bodies to heal by passing my hands over them. I'd never describe myself as a faith healer - it's just that if someone believes in this type of healing, I can help release whatever blockage it is that's preventing them healing themselves.

I regularly visualise my body from head to toe, and wait for it to tell me if there's anything wrong.

Vanity is not high on my list of priorities.

I'm not a great meat eater - I eat it twice a week. But I can't stand fish - my mother says it's because I got a fish bone stuck in my throat when I was little.

After university, I set out to see if I could make a career in music. It was a tough journey at first, but by the time I was 23 I'd been signed by A&M Records.

I made loads of English and Irish friends at university and all they wanted to do was have a good time.

The relationship between parents and children who live together is a growing one, and it shifts every day, especially during the teenage years.

Music was my first love, and at Marlborough we put bands together and sang the pop songs of the day. Although I couldn't read or write music - I still can't - I taught myself to play the guitar and piano by listening to songs and working out the chords.

I'm a strong believer in the importance of energies - ley lines, energy streams, whatever you wish to call them - within a house. They can affect your health as well as your happiness.

I've been to Australia, Russia and many of places I wanted to see as a child. But I've never visited India. I've had many invitations to play there but it hasn't worked out. People say it's beautiful, but I think I'd react badly to the poverty.

My secondary schooling was at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, so I'm fond of that part of the world. It's quintessentially English, with village greens, pubs and cricket pitches, and resonates strongly with me.

I was born in Argentina, and have lived in England, Ireland, Africa and Malta.

A lot of people think they can become world stars overnight.

If you love yourself there's plenty left for everyone else. You just have to deflect natsy things.

Most years, I do 70 or 80 concerts.

I know journalists like to think that they are read by people like me, but I don't read them.

I'm very good to my wife. I never go home.

Quite simply, to win Miss World is not a ticket to millions and I've read that so many times.

My wife and I are rock solid together and, curiously enough, always have been.