Quotes from Gavin Esler

During my childhood in the Cold War, my family saw America as a great ally in our common struggle to keep back Soviet communism.

We need to create a sense of shame about racism, and about leaders who deliberately mislead and lie.

I am the typical British aspiring working class. To be called 'elite' by people who have inherited wealth and run hedge funds or worked in the City of London, I don't criticise them for it, but the idea is frankly laughable. Just ridiculous.

Doctors, dentists and nurses commonly take out malpractice insurance to pay for lawsuits. The trend has expanded to include hairdressers, accountants, vets, sports umpires and members of the clergy, all fearful of being sued for wrongful action or advice.

Privacy is dead. We live in a world of instantaneous, globalised gossip. The idea that there is a 'private' sphere and a 'public' sphere for world leaders, politicians or anyone in the public eye is slowly disintegrating. The death of privacy will have a profound effect on who our leaders will be in the future.

For me, prog rock has always been essentially British. It combines all our great and eccentric genius. We are not hung up on categories, rules and classification. We love people who break the mould, challenge us and make us think differently.

I never have met any heroes - except one. The exception is Ian Anderson, flute player extraordinaire, creative musical talent for more than 40 years, and the man most associated with the band Jethro Tull.

Whether anyone has ever changed their mind as a result of a celebrity endorsement of a candidate is a bit of a mystery.

Americans, apparently, either do nothing about the world's problems, in which case they are ignorant and isolationist, selfish and gutless, or they try to do something about the world's problems, in which case they are arrogant and naive, greedy and bullying.

The skills necessary to change nappies or negotiate Brexit are obviously very different, but both involve a great deal of trust in the competence of the people doing the job.

Ronald Reagan offered us an international vision divided between the free world and the evil empire. Even if this was a cartoonish view, it helped us make sense of everything from Star Wars to industrial policy.

There is so much unreliable information on the internet and in the media.

It's perhaps easier to say what prog rock isn't than what it is: it's not three-minute pop songs, it's not straightforward rock, metal, blues or jazz, but can have elements of all them and more. It's a form that is on the boundaries of many different forms, that is open to all sorts of influences.

As a teenager in Scotland, I had American friends, sons and daughters of officers at a U.S. Air Force base.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is now a good friend, and the thing that strikes you about him is that he's all about details.

I'm not anti-American. But I am very strongly anti American bacon - the worst bacon in the world.

I remember politicians in Northern Ireland were sometimes called 'verbal incendiarists,' as they didn't actually do anything but they said certain things. So when you hear certain politicians using nasty language, that colours our lives. It makes some other people think it's OK to racially abuse people.

My father was a member of the Dunkirk Veterans Association.

In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, celebrity endorsements possibly damaged Hillary Clinton, since they allowed Donald Trump to emphasise that she was part of an out-of-touch elite. That is ironic, given that Mr Trump owed his election victory to his own celebrity status on a TV reality show.

American elections have usually turned on the issues of war, peace and the economy.

Viewers don't like rudeness, but they like us to be persistent.

A magazine once asked my favourite beauty product and I said water.

Mini-skirts, Prada and Agnes B are for New York and L.A. Washington is more America's equivalent of Marks & Spencer.