David Essex

“I was at one of the Krays' clubs, El Morocco. I was singing with Dudley Moore on the piano. Then Ronnie said, 'Come into the office, son.' I didn't even realise the gravity of it. He said, 'You got a manager?' So I said, 'No, I'm OK thanks, Ron. I've got a manager.' He said, 'Well, if you need anybody, you know where to come.'”

“I got where I am through a series of flukes - I'm basically a musician and a writer, not a pop star.”

“For a scruffy London kid like me the sights and sounds of the countryside, the wind on your face, was a different world. I remember my Uncle Levi who was tall and handsome and told wonderful stories. He told me the natural life was important, not the material things.”

“What worries me about modern society is how inhibited it is. I'd like to see more eccentrics and more freedom, less surveillance and all of that stuff.”

“I was the drummer hiding behind the cymbals. By the time fame came along, I'd worked in the business for a decade, then suddenly, I was being mobbed.”

“I've got three sons, so I can understand that father-son relationship to a certain extent. There's always that lack of communication through the teenage years; that period when, at about 16, you realise that your dad is just a man and not some kind of super-hero.”

“I'm very fond of Cuba and going anywhere off the beaten track.”

“My mum always said, 'A land without gypsies is a land without freedom.' And I believe that. I've always been a bit restless, and in search of adventure.”

“Possibly my most perilous encounter with out-of-control fans came when I was due to go into Radio 1 for an interview with breakfast-show DJ Tony Blackburn.”

“To sacrifice personal freedom to gain creative freedom is a fair enough price.”

“If you can do 'EastEnders,' you can do anything.”

“Whitstable Castle has some lovely gardens that are certainly worth a look.”

“You know, I feel sorry for the kids on television shows like 'Pop Idol.' They can never be prepared for the kind of pressure fame brings and don't have the confidence or knowledge of their ability to survive the darker periods.”

“I do like babies depending on how they behave.”

“Family is very important to me and has become more so as I've got older.”

“I should have put the emphasis on America a little earlier - toured there or done something. But I never did.”

“I think I'm a good person.”

“I can honestly say I haven't had a bad holiday as I am a positive person and make the best of every situation.”

“Che was a revolutionary, doctor, author, leader and a global symbol. Growing up in the Sixties, his poster, alongside Jimi Hendrix, would be on many a boy's wall. Of course when I played him in the musical, 'Evita,' and researched his life, there was a dark side to the man, but I do admire his idealism.”

“I just write the music I want to - if people like it that's great, if they don't well that's unfortunate.”