Quotes from Suzi Quatro

The bass player's function, along with the drums, is to be the engine that drives the car... everything else is merely colours.

I don't really think about male and female; if something's right for me, it's right for me, and it doesn't matter what it is - maybe that's what it took for me, a woman, to break down the doors.

The golden rule for playing the bass is that's it all about feel, not just plonking away. You need to feel the sound, not using a pick or a plectrum - which has meant plenty of calluses on my fingers.

I've got a quick mouth, and I set my boundaries. Nothing ever happened that I couldn't handle. Once when a guy came on stage making rude gestures, I hit him over the head with my guitar.

Do as many gigs as the good Lord sends. That's the only true training.

I'm one of those rare breed of rock n' rollers with a brain, probably because the brain's still intact.

Bass guitar is the engine of the band.

A bass should sound like a bass with the thump of the finger against the wood, like it began with stand up.

I got my first real bass guitar in my hands when I was 14 - a 1957 Fender Precision, which is still hanging on the wall in my front room. I loved the heaviness of it and the feel of the wood. I still do.

My own musical ambitions were born when I was five, watching the Ed Sullivan Show on TV. When Elvis Presley burst on to the screen, singing 'Don't Be Cruel,' I felt my first sexual thrill, though I didn't know what it was at the time.

Reality shows have a lot to answer for. They applaud mediocrity.

Anyone who has had their heart broken learns to keep a little safety area. Even now in my relationship, I have something I can call my own in case something goes wrong. You need a place to retreat to.

I don't know what else I would do. I love entertaining people, I love communicating, I love an audience. I'm a real artist, right from the bottom of my toes to the top of my head.

I've seen it [Australia] go from a lot of small towns to big towns, but I think it has found its identity in all this time... it's a very special country, I could easily live here.

I refused to wear make-up on TV. I wanted my music to be heard.

I was a me-ist. I believed in the right to do whatever I wanted to do regardless of gender. Still do.

There are things you're supposed to learn in life. My biggest regret was terminating a pregnancy when I was about 18. Every day, I think about who that baby would be now; it still makes me sad.

Be honest, be kind, and share the love.

I always found the road exciting. I liked stinking hotels and freezing dressing rooms.

I may have been sexy, but I was covered up total. There was something left to the imagination.

Nothing heals like love and time

As far as more recognition goes, I am happy with the amount of love and respect I have received from other artists and the public. Of course, I would love more, and think I deserve it.

I also have a big love of classical music played on piano because this is the environment I grew up in my brother being one of the great masters in this world.

After moving to England I did some recording and eventually formed an English band, this was together for quite a few years with only a keyboard replacement. The band had no name, just my name.