They called me 'Mr. Average' in school.
— Richard Ashcroft
I don't ever want to get to the point where I don't think about death! You've got to swim in it, learn from it - embrace it!
There's always one character, I think, in every town who's the obsessive who steals money to go and buy records.
'Bitter Sweet Symphony' is one of the greatest pieces of modern art created by anyone. I'm not blowing my own trumpet here.
The music industry wants safe rock stars, people who are totally homogenised.
As a musician, I don't wanna put out political soundbites.
I strongly disagree that you can't have a happy family life and a child as well as rock n' roll.
There's a track called 'Why Not Nothing' about how the world's turning so conservative and so religious at the same time. I think it's up to the songwriters to give another side to the coin, and my music does that.
I've had tons of incredible conversations with people who say they got married or buried relatives to my songs.
At The Verve's first-ever gig, I said that we were gonna blow this local band off the stage. It was only in the local Wigan paper, and they rang me to ask why I was being so aggressive. I just went, 'Hey man, it's like boxing. I'm just trying to sell a ticket.'
I don't want to be responsible for messing up someone. I don't want to be responsible for that, because the things that happened in The Verve, it was heavy stuff. It was real. It wasn't just frivolous nonsense, you know what I mean? There was real people's lives.
I'm very lucky that I can walk on the stage before anyone in the world. And that's the thing: you've got to be pretty confident to go on after me. You've got to have the artillery, as I call it. And the artillery is your songs.
I don't like being told what to do.
Music is power.
I'm a naturally gifted left-footed footballer.
Even if you're not releasing songs, the act of creativity is important. That's the part I love, when you're in the moment. The rest of it I'm not particularly interested in at all.
80% of everything I've experienced since the Verve has been depressing.
I love my cracked eyes.
I think I've learned a lot on the vocal side of things.
If Sinatra had packed in his style because there were a load of counterfeit Sinatras about, he would have stopped singing in 1956 or whatever.
A classic song is timeless. You'll never outlive a classic song. I'll never put The Beatles 'In My Life' on one day and say, 'That doesnt move me any more.'
I've always felt like an outsider in this industry, but that sense of community - that sense of belonging with your fans - it's an amazing feeling, and it's really inspiring.
I've got a talent, and people enjoy my songs, people love my songs; why stop?
I'm never happy with any record, never truly been happy.
Just because something's kinda indie and whatever and only a few people know it, it doesn't give it more authenticity over Rihanna's 'Work' work work.
I don't believe in a new-age movement; I'm not a hippy.
If you really, truly believe in something, you're on fire, and your tongue rolls at the same pace.
Rock n' roll is like a religion.
Ultimately, if someone's paying hard-earned money to see me play live, they don't want a rant about what's happening on the other side of the world. They don't want to know which way they should vote.
I wouldn't trade what Coldplay have achieved for any of my songs.
People do get out of my way when I'm walking to the shops.
I don't think I have enough German blood in me to get into the royal family.
I love sportsmen's spirit, their ability to come back and override negativity. Michael Owen has been written off so many times, but he will always prove the doubters wrong.
Other kids would be playing with their Action Man, and I was questioning life and society.
If the way I see the world is mad, then fantastic.
I'm not one of those freaks who can't see anything past 1977.
'Bitter Sweet Symphony' is one of the biggest hip-hop records of all time once you actually analyse it.
It doesn't matter how fashion or politics changes; you'll never change a classic song.
I want to entertain and inspire.
If you judge people by what they've done in the past, you're wrong.
Obviously, aging has a certain amount of mellowing process because there's certain things you realise you were doing when you were younger that were plain ridiculous, stupid.
Hearing 'This Is How It Feels' on the radio was an amazing feeling, like starting again. But I believe that, in the end, my name will be bigger then the Verve because of all those great tunes and the power of what I stand for.
If this world hasn't made you semi-mad, then you ain't living in it.
The mainstream consumed our culture.
I have never had a bad review off a good-looking person.
Don't expect me to be some indie schmindie embarrassed about my success.
People wanted me to become this cliched Keith Richards, Iggy Pop character. I wasn't expected to marry a beautiful wife and have kids.
We never had a stylist, so I always wore my own clothes.
I'm very interested in Darwinism and how that affects us on a day-to-day level. But I also have a deep interest in theology and the spiritual.
Technology means the kind of music you can make on your own if you've got an imagination is amazing. It's crazy that I can sit with a Mac and a keyboard and a mic and create a symphony.
