Chris de Burgh

Every generation has to have its heroes.

I'd been to South Africa during the Seventies, when it was definitely not kosher to go there. I felt that the best thing to do was to be a missionary and tell people what was going on in their own country because censorship was so dreadful.

You get pigeonholed. It's a kind of safety device for people who don't really want to look any further outside of the box, but I'm actually impregnable as far as what people say about me.

I remember years ago hearing a top band talking about a song of theirs that was a monster hit and they were really dissing it, saying that they hoped they'd never have to play it again. I thought: 'That's not right. If people love a song, play it.'

I think that every songwriter would give their right arm to come up with a standard that is going to be played long after they're dead.

I struggled for so many years.

When you're a solo artist and you're not doing well, it can be pretty tough. So when success does come, it feels like you've earned it.

I can rock along with the best of them.

I studied French and English literature because I liked it.

Before I ever did a stage concert, I'd done hundreds of living-room concerts, which helped a lot.

I'm not a big consumer at all. I'm very happy with enough.

In an outdoor environment, you need to be more energetic. The attention of the crowd begins to wander - not like an indoor concert where the audience attention is riveted on to the stage.

Americans are much easier to please than Canadians. The American taste is less critical. Canadians are more cultured, they are more aware of the arts than Americans.

I can fix dishwashers. I was brought up in a castle with no money and lots of imagination. I learnt a lot about plumbing at an early age.

It's every songwriter's dream to come up with a standard.

When I held my first album in my hands, I tell you, there were tears falling down my face. I thought 'This is it. I've arrived. I'm going to be an overnight world star.'

I come from the school of thought that if you want to succeed and stay successful, you've got to put in the hard work at the beginning.

When you have children, you almost feel like you've made your contribution to the survival of the human species. It's your way of passing the baton.

When I left university, I didn't want to jump into anything right away. Music certainly wasn't a burning ambition.

It's tough going out as the opening act of a band especially when you're solo.

Canada was one of the first countries that took an interest in my career. Apart from a freak hit I had in South America, Canadians took my 'Spanish Train' album to heart and have stuck with me ever since. They've been very loyal, and it's been a long and rewarding affair.

You see, when I go on stage I perform with just a guitar and you have to have very strong material to hold an audience from getting bored or restless. One strong way of doing that is the story because everybody will listen to a story.

I like to be subtle, without being too obvious.

Robert Browning - I like his dramatic revelations, his allegorical form.

I've got a room full of gold and platinum records, a lot of them are Canadian, and I've got a very soft spot for that country.

I always bring divining rods when I'm on tour because you can change energy streams by moving furniture around your hotel room.

My wife and I are rock solid together and, curiously enough, always have been.

Quite simply, to win Miss World is not a ticket to millions and I've read that so many times.

I'm very good to my wife. I never go home.

I know journalists like to think that they are read by people like me, but I don't read them.

Most years, I do 70 or 80 concerts.

I've 300 other songs, but 'Lady In Red' is just one of them. Funnily enough, in America, it is massive, but most people wouldn't have a clue who Chris de Burgh was.

If you love yourself there's plenty left for everyone else. You just have to deflect natsy things.

A lot of people think they can become world stars overnight.

I've been travelling all my life.

My secondary schooling was at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, so I'm fond of that part of the world. It's quintessentially English, with village greens, pubs and cricket pitches, and resonates strongly with me.

I've been to Australia, Russia and many of places I wanted to see as a child. But I've never visited India. I've had many invitations to play there but it hasn't worked out. People say it's beautiful, but I think I'd react badly to the poverty.

When I'm home I love to get the wellies on and take the dog for a walk.

I generally write the songs accidentally. They generally come out of nowhere.

I'm a strong believer in the importance of energies - ley lines, energy streams, whatever you wish to call them - within a house. They can affect your health as well as your happiness.

Music was my first love, and at Marlborough we put bands together and sang the pop songs of the day. Although I couldn't read or write music - I still can't - I taught myself to play the guitar and piano by listening to songs and working out the chords.

The relationship between parents and children who live together is a growing one, and it shifts every day, especially during the teenage years.

I made loads of English and Irish friends at university and all they wanted to do was have a good time.

After university, I set out to see if I could make a career in music. It was a tough journey at first, but by the time I was 23 I'd been signed by A&M Records.

I'm not a great meat eater - I eat it twice a week. But I can't stand fish - my mother says it's because I got a fish bone stuck in my throat when I was little.

Vanity is not high on my list of priorities.

I regularly visualise my body from head to toe, and wait for it to tell me if there's anything wrong.

My mother was actually a breeder, believe it or not, and she used to name horses after some of my songs.

You know you get a tube of toothpaste... such a bloody con. You squeeze and squeeze and nothing more comes out? Well, take a pair of scissors and cut it about an inch and a half from the bottom and it's absolutely packed with stuff! I do that, then cut off the top bit, so I can stick that back on and it doesn't dry out!

I am happy in my own skin.