I come from a time when music used to make a difference.

I have so many happy memories of Belfast and the shows I played there.

My dad died with a full head of hair, so I have that legacy.

I get frustrated but never depressed.

You won't find me at parties or the openings of movies and I don't hang around with David Beckham and Kanye West. So the paparazzi leave me alone, which means that I can do my shows, write music and then live a normal life.

We used to spend a lot of time as kids in Northern Ireland, on the border and in southern Ireland as well.

A good microphone is an essential thing for a singer.

There are a million misconceptions about me but the greatest is probably that people think I'm the king of disco. I love disco but it is only one part of me.

I have had a partial kneecap replacement, an irritable bowel and three stents in my heart.

People with learning difficulties are often creative in different ways.

I am a big fan of Korean food.

Fame is always a bit crazy. You spend so long banging on the door trying to get in that when it suddenly opens, it's a very strange feeling.

I'm sure I could have been a rich man, but I never was.

I spent some time with Bob Marley and I have to say that was like walking with a god on earth.

In my earlier albums like 'Another Year' and 'Just A Boy,' I always saw myself as a bit of a loser - the kind of guy who takes a drink and walks into a wall instead of through the door.

It happens in this business - The Rolling Stones were ripped off, so were the Beatles. George Harrison hardly had anything left in the end.

I was a big-headed little guy.

I don't believe in muckin' about and hiding ambition.

A bit of arrogance is nice every now and then.

When you've sung the same song a million or a hundred thousand times, there are always moments when you drift off and go into automatic.

I think I topped 'When I Need You' with 'More Than I Can Say.'

I have always believed that there is no age factor to this music business. You are only as old as you feel and basically you can be a contender at any time.

I would love to be an Aussie citizen.

Korean audiences are amazing, they really love the music.

I really admire Ed Sheeran. He seems to have really beaten his way through and I think that's fantastic. He's his own man - good for him. But there aren't many of him out there.

Australians never give up. That's why I love this place. I never give up.

I am a troubadour, a wandering minstrel.

I never had kids, but I married once.

I'm writing a novel about a scallywag who is a bit like me.

I'm not into 'The Voice.' It's an affair between a television network and a record company.

Where are the John Lennons, the Bob Marleys, the Bob Dylans? Where have they gone?

The past is the past: what can you do about it?

I don't think I ever really sold out, and that made a difference.

I've always loved what I do and I've always done what I wanted to do... in this business you have got to be yourself.

I write from the voice in my head.

Many performers try to sustain a high point in their careers by keeping themselves around those who are overanxious to tell them how good they are.

I keep reminding myself I'm the same guy who was lucky enough to get my break because Roger Daltrey commissioned me to write the songs for one of his earlier albums.

That's the nature of the business. You can have a hit and then nothing happens all of a sudden. But I don't resent it. Hits don't make great artists.

Kids in England will stop you on the streets and tell you bluntly they don't care for your current record. But it keeps you down to earth.

I very much enjoy writing about positive, direct emotions.

I felt quite an affinity with 'Rocky' in my career. It's been like 'fight the business' all the way up.

I believe in not sitting down and taking it easy.

All I've ever wanted to do is master my craft. I'm a singer, and I want to be a great singer.

I think the worst thing in the world is for artists to produce themselves.

My first two albums, 'Silverbird and 'Just a Boy,' which had the single 'Long Tall Glasses' on it, were very well received. Then I did another one, 'Another Year,' which did miserably.

One of the reasons I had moved to London to pursue my career was that I could go to the clubs in the evening and maybe meet my heroes, people like Donovan and Bert Jansch and Dylan. I actually did see Dylan in a club one night.

I am the kind of person who does want very badly to be liked. I'm a right-miserable little show off.

I would love the record industry to be more receptive to my music but all they are interested in is style over content.

Because I don't go to showbiz parties, I don't have the right image. The media decides who's in and who's out.

In the '70s, Leo-mania was the equivalent of Beatle-mania down there and they still love me. In Australia they still want heroes.