One thing that really appeals to me is this idea of music being a living thing that has an evolution that, in a way, enables the artist to sell a process rather than a piece of product.

I think that you get the mood of a song stronger if you get it right that way. On the other hand, you put some songs out live and they don`t catch flight. They just flop. It is hard to tell until they are out there.

I think it is the weak and the young and the minorities that you need to look after to get a healthy creative environment - to get a lot of choices, a lot of different styles of music, a lot experimental stuff that everyone else feeds off.

I love 5.1. Sometimes you can`t squeeze everything in comfortably into a stereo picture. There is a lot more space in a 5.1 environment.

I think one of the things about writing in the studio is that the song hasn`t matured, if you like, so quite often the vocals are early attempts. Whereas once you`ve taken it out on the road a bit, you learn more about a song.

I`m a bit cynical that it ever will be addressed properly. I think it is healthy to get some sort of copyright protection. But some of it has gone on forever.

I think another thing is that we don`t really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist`s interest to be on sale in every place where they sell music.

The industry does have some influence on who gets other awards. With the Mercury Prize, they don`t. Jon comes from the business, but his heart is still very much in the music. Currently, we have about 12 major names that have said they want to be a part of MUDDA.

John Lennon was definitely one of my heroes. I think he always wrote from his heart. He was a very complicated individual, but there`s an honesty about his songwriting that I think makes it very powerful. Sometimes it`s very simplistic, childlike and naive; and that is what gives it some of its strength.

"There is so much pressure on musicians to look youthful. I`ve turned my back on my wilder days. I`m much more relaxed now." (Speaking in 2005)

African artists are strong, charismatic and compelling, and I think they hold people`s attention.

Just to stay in an all white, all male, all middle class preserve would be very boring for me and very boring for the people who listen to what I do.

Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism.

Talking about why he demanded to write all the lyrics for the last album he made with Genesis: "There are very few books written by a committee, and for a very good reason".

When I left (Genesis) there was some angst and I think everyone thought I was destroying their careers, but as soon as I left, the band sold a whole lot more records.

I have always loved R.E.M.`s music and respected their commitment to social change.

I`m an artist who works incredibly slowly.

There has always been a strong relationship between music and religion. It is because they both plug directly into the heart and can have real power for good or evil.

«I have always been appalled by the idea of state-sponsored killing. It seems that a lot of politicians feel it necessary to appear very hard on crime in order to win votes. This is an issue which requires a lot of support to get the ideas through.»