Mick Hucknall

“I must have been six or seven - standing in front of a full-length mirror with a yardstick, pretending to be John Lennon. In my head, I was always going to be a singer, and The Beatles were probably the first musicians that had a major impact.”

“I have great memories of my time at Manchester Poly. I still enjoy DJing from time to time.”

“I felt trapped by my success.”

“The last Simply Red album, 'Stay,' was good, but the first three tracks were designed for radio play. They were written to meet people's expectations of Simply Red.”

“A Hard Day's Night' is the most perfect pop album you'll ever get to hear in your life; it's filled with definitive versions of the two-minute pop song.”

“The way I'm distorted and intentionally misquoted has been going on since 1985.”

“I didn't want to be one of those touring musicians who get to hear about their daughter taking her first steps while they're in New Zealand.”

“The Beatles and the Stones had Elvis and Hollywood, but when it came to my generation America meant Richard Nixon and Vietnam.”

“You're damn right I'm comfortable, I've worked very hard to be comfortable. But something I've always tried to impress upon people is that these folks in the houses of parliament affect what's in your wage packet, the welfare of your kids, your health. Why wouldn't we be interested in it?”

“Copyright's democratising effect is seen most clearly in the music business. Anyone who can speak, sing, rap or hum and operate a simple sound recorder can create a copyright song. Imagination is the only limit.”

“I loved the African-American culture, but racism was still a big problem and white America was exactly what I didn't love.”

“Possessions aren't my raison d'etre.”

“I would say the worst period of my life was between 1997 and 2000. I was lost, I was all at odds. I needed a family, I guess.”

“Musical recording history is full of multi-racial collaborations and it is this cross-pollination that has created the magic of Ellington, Sinatra and the Beatles. I am merely a part of that tradition.”

“Wine is my passion. I'm not keen on the snobbery or elitism of wine, that's not what it's about - I just really enjoy it.”

“I'm a songwriter, my love of music has never left me and I literally don't seem to be able to stop writing songs, they keep coming.”

“When I stopped Simply Red the reason was to bring up my daughter Romy. I wanted to be a dad that was around.”

“I had a spate of being run over between the ages of 11 and 13. I was quite a rambunctious child, I had a little moped I used to ride illegally. I got hit by cars three times because I was a very day-dreamy kid.”

“People strive for success, but it's very lonely at the top. Now I realise the ultimate prize is a family.”

“Once I had a daughter and I had a wife I knew I was going to enter a completely different world that I'd never known before.”