Quotes from Gilbert O'Sullivan

To be successful to me meant to have a hit record in England. I never looked outside England.

I'd love to see myself on sale in shops. It tickles me, does the idea of me being marketed.

When the magazines talk about artists they talk about the Paul McCartneys, the Paul Simons, they never talk about me. So their readers and contemporary artists are never going to check me out because they're not reading about me.

I've never had writer's block.

I work in the studio all day, and then I go for a walk with my dog, listening to music on headphones. And Saturday and Sundays, work is strictly out of bounds. It has to be.

It's ridiculous that people would judge my songs based on what I wore, but that's how it is... superficial. I don't really care, though - I am confident in the quality of my own work.

The music is the thing. I am not writing for critics; I don't want to become a personality.

I used to play music all night and sleep during the day. I was very career-minded. The music dominated everything and anything that interfered with that, I put a stop to it.

Success for me is to write what I think is a good song. When I'm pleased with it, that, for me, is a magical moment. I never lost that buzz.

The way I do that is to keep coming up with good songs and when I do a concert, I make sure I give a good performance. It's not rocket science.

As long as I can write songs, make a record and do concerts, I'm really quite happy.

I like conflict in songs.

The perception that if you're not on 'Top Of The Pops' you're dead and buried is a good one for pop music, because 'TOTP' is a catalyst or barometer for pop success.

I do pick up on contemporary issues.

I have learned to avoid the coverage, good or bad - and it's mostly bad.

What I would hate to go through is what happened in the mid-90s playing in front of a half-empty theatre, which prompted me to say 'never again' when it came to Waterford. To go through that again in any of the places I call home would destroy me.

I couldn't live without tea. I have two cups in the morning, one at lunch, two in the afternoon and one in the evening - Assam with milk and sugar. It has to be leaf tea - no bags - and drunk from a china cup.

The measure of success was writing a song, recording it and for it being in the hit parade in England. Success was about the postman walking up the garden whistling my song. I wasn't trying to conquer the world.

I always take a teapot with me on tour. I suppose it's only natural that I've just written a song called 'Where Would We Be Without Tea?'

My Norwegian wife Aase was a Pan Am stewardess back in the Seventies when we met. She was very attractive, and we became good friends, but I was travelling a lot and she was jetting back and forth across the Atlantic, so it was a while before we got together.

When it comes to my songs I'm confident. Back in 1967, I would go to a publisher's office, and tell them they just had to listen to my music.

It is ironic that losing makes you more liked than winning.

At school, I was basically a loner, it was hard until I was 15 or so. Then I went to art school and was gifted with freedom to do the things I really wanted to do.

Success isn't dependent on the market place, because I can't control that. It's about completing a good song.