A biography for Jay Bladeshasn’t been written yet.
“My mum was incredibly resourceful and there were loads of aunts and uncles around who helped.”
“You can't look snappy in a T-shirt.”
“I was the tough guy who never showed any emotion and dealt with nothing.”
“To become famous in your late 40s is a really, really weird concept. People come up to me and call my name and I have to quickly remember whether or not I know them.”
“The beauty with cameras now is that people are able to start recording stuff. Imagine all of the stuff that's gone on without being seen.”
“We can't keep throwing stuff away at this alarming rate, thinking this planet is indestructible.”
“I'm always touched when men show emotion, as it is very rare.”
“When I was 16, I landed a job at a modelling agency in Bond Street, and those guys introduced me to a different kind of London, the little rough kid from Hackney in the middle of all this glamour. It was an education that I needed.”
“I think I knew three couples that were together. I don't remember seeing too many men in my estate.”
“One of the people I lived with was a bit naughty and would steal our food. You would see him with the cornflakes box and he would say, 'No, I didn't do it.'”
“I think one of the areas that's developed a lot with having dyslexia, for me, is confidence.”
“My reading skills are improving but I'm still using coping strategies. I can read signs and I can work things out.”
“When I go to the workshop, I'll put the music on and have a dance for about half an hour. And then, if I fancy, I'll do a bit of work. But if I don't, I'll have another dance.”
“I used to think of Hackney in a really good light, now it's too much linked to slavery, too much. And then you're a descendant of that. It doesn't sit comfortably. I'm quite disgusted by it.”
“At one stage, I hated the police with a passion, because of how they treated me, how they treated my friends.”
“People find it amazing that somebody can't read. It's like not everybody is a David Beckham, not everybody can kick the ball and get it in the back of the net. It just doesn't work like that. Some of us can't do these things.”
“It's magical to see things through a child's eyes.”
“It's scary to accept your vulnerability.”
“Secondary school was a bit naughty for me. The class I was in was called 'L' for learners but was known as L for 'Losers' so that's how I got treated at school. The Ls weren't allowed to do chemistry or anything that included something sharp or hot, so no bunsen burners, no woodwork. It was deemed we would mess everything up.”
“If you know certain places are not necessarily for you, why don't you create your own place? I often say to people 'why keep knocking at someone's door if you know they're not going to let you in? Why don't you create your own house? Why don't you do something yourself?'”