John Waite

“Missing You' almost didn't get on the No Brakes' album, because the record company said, 'The album's finished. We don't need any more songs.'”

“To me, The Hard Way' is as raw and vital as anything I was doing when I first started only its way better!”

“The only thing about rock n' roll in my house is a couple of paintings of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan - and they were expensive, too.”

“I think the Journey guys wanted to be back in Journey and I wanted to be back solo.”

“I thought my wife and I would grow old together, but it just didn't work out.”

“I like imperfection.”

“I really expected things to be different. But being in Bad English was too much of a compromise. Instead of being true to the artistic side, there was this incredible pressure to keep producing the same kind of hits.”

“There's a lot of compromises, but that's what a great record should be, really.”

“In my world, I like everything stripped down, something that's really truthful.”

“I am the same man writing the music. I haven't changed directions to suit anyone except me.”

“Rock n' roll is closest thing I've got to a spiritual power. It's been the higher voice in my life and it's never let me down.”

“I liked Western country, like cowboy songs, when I was a little kid. Then I developed a taste for Hank Williams and those sort of songs as I got a little bit older.”

“Coming off the back of the live album, there was a certain edginess and an almost punk energy that I've missed for a while.”

“There's an easy way to tell if you have a good song. You get hit in the head with a message, and you get hit in the feet with a rhythm. You're beaten up with music. It's a beautiful thing when that happens.”

“But I'll never write another Missing You' again as long as I live. I hope that I'll write a good song, but I don't think that I'll be able to write another song that will reach people that much.”

“Turning 40, your past really comes back to you. You're very aware of where you've been the plans you've made, the memories you have, and the mistakes you've made.”

“The silence of the room is as important as the music.”

“My heart's in New York City. But you can't live that pace forever.”

“Television really does give you tremendous exposure in America.”

“There's that Bob Dylan quote: 'He who's not busy being born is busy dying.' That's a great line. And I really believe that.”