I was just reading about Paul Simon in 'Uncut', and it was fascinating. I never think about him much or think about his music or anything, but it's interesting to hear his ideas on stuff.

If we want to get to the next level, let's take a risk and try something different.

There was a time when the music fell silent. Both within me and around me.

Sometimes it's all about hype, and I didn't want hype.

Hip-hop is like underground. I don't know if hip-hop exists anymore. I don't know if it does.

Ever since the Beatles, the concept of lovable mop tops, it's a bit of a fantasy, but it's a lovely idea that people make wonderful music and live a wonderful life being friends together. Sadly, life...

Unfortunately, the record I did with Motley wasn't exactly a huge success. But working with those guys was a huge learning experience as well as a really creative time, so I had an absolute blast...

Sting was a big role model for me, as a bassist and as a songwriter who also sings. I learned a lot from him, and also from Pino Palladino and Tears For Fears.

For me, the other thing is not just a strong sense of spirituality.

You can grow up with literally nothing and you don't suffer if you know you're loved and valued.

I don't know why people thought I was retiring.

I really liked writing rhyming poems and plays.

I love 'Fire On The Floor.' It's just smouldering. I think it's gonna be a fantastic piece to perform live. It's filled with passion. It's about when someone you know is so bad for you, but you can't...

The surgery will always be a huge part of my life. I'm going to need to help people with weight problems for the rest of my life so that I can maintain my weight.

Especially with women in music there is this unnecessary competitive element. And, like, why? Why do people do things where they try to put peers up against each other?

There's a deeper level of healing that needs to happen for the world in general. There's a mass of people who are broken.

It is a lot cheaper to spend eight hours in a rehearsal hall than in a recording studio.

I've always hated narrative songs. I hate those songs where, basically, it's an unfolding of a story.

Songs, a while ago, became the medium through which I process most of the information that I receive and feel. But I go back and forth about whether this is all of life or whether you're missing...

It's interesting because what I do and what I sing is, to other people, pretty unique. I feel I'm creating my own path... and I'm working on growing as a performer.

When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do.

I love collard greens and sweet potatoes. But like, traveling, I'm always just looking for that thing where you feel like there's love in the food. Like one of the best things, in Brazil it's...

When I was 16 years old, I had a chance meeting in Bellingham, Washington, of all places on planet Earth, with the legendary composer Elmer Bernstein. My life was never the same after that.

He's a couple sandwiches short of a picnic.

I got an office where I just go and put together shows, you know.

I'm a huge fan of 'Heart On My Sleeve' - I think it has a 'Take That' feel to it! John Shanks and James Morrison wrote the track, and we spoke to Sony and asked if we could reference a 'Greatest...

I've kind of walked into a realm where it's paid off for all the hard work that I've put into it, and I get to bless my family. And that's the one thing I love doing. I love giving.

I like to be a peacekeeper, and I just don't believe in stirring up conflict.

But I've got to think of myself as the luckiest guy. Robert Johnson only had one album's worth of work as his legacy. That's all that life allowed him.

I guess coming after 'Country Grammar' and everybody thinking, 'Well maybe, that was it.' To come back with something like 'Nellyville' and to have people accept it and appreciate it the way they did,...