Paul Simonon

“I love putting paint on canvas, getting lost in the process of painting.”

“Seven years without a break really takes a toll on you, and you don't even realize it. You're affected by other people, and after a while, sometimes they have love for you, and sometimes they don't.”

“I obviously had my reggae, but I got quite into rockabilly when I was a kid, because I was trying to find something that represented me as a white person.”

“Obviously, a bass sounds like a bass and a guitar sounds like a guitar, but the way you play the guitar reflects your personality.”

“It would be obvious for me to do conceptual art, and I think I've done it already with smashing bass guitars and whatever - I consider that as conceptual.”

“I'm not knocking conceptual art; it's another department, but it doesn't move me like painting.”

“Being outside on your own in all weathers is exciting; it clears you out.”

“I never wanted to go back and relive the glory days; I just want to keep moving forward. That's what I took from punk. Keep going. Don't look back.”

“I grew up wanting to be a painter and paint pictures.”

“We were starting to lose track with Earth because fame and success brings you many things that you're not really prepared for or know how to deal with as a human being.”

“There was a point after the whole intensity of the Clash finally subsided when I just found that painting grounded me in a way that music didn't.”