FRIENDS
"You can't decide who you're going to get on with. You really can't. So therefore in your mind you have to black out half of your brain, that half of your body that is involved in the music industry. And you have to deny it. And you don't ask other people to deny it, but you have to do it yourself. And if somebody says to you, 'Oh, your picture was in the newspaper', you have to react as if it's never happened before. And it's never likely to happen again. And you have to say, 'What me? In the newspaper?' When in reality, it's not the first time. Even if your actions are very dull, whatever you do is vaguely reportable to other people and it seems interesting to other people. Even though it isn't in reality. Therefore when you do something extreme or semi-extreme, you know that it's going to be blown out of proportion. So you have to watch yourself."

SPITE
"Have I met people who are without spite, so they're very accepting of all kinds of behaviour? No, I've never met people like that. Those kinds of people are not very interesting because there's only one shade, only one dimension, and you know what you're going to get, all the time. I prefer people who are slightly unpredictable. God knows there aren't actually that many of those people around. Everything I do is unpredictable. Every day of my life is completely unpredictable. I've lived a fascinating life. Truly, truly fascinating. It will probably make a fantastic half hour television documentary. On Channel Five."

SPORT
"I swim a lot. And when I say that to people their heads spin around. They can't really imagine me in a life that doesn't involve very heavy books and a small stepladder. It's very nice to be underwater. It gives you a very clear perspective on life. People look much better underwater. I like diving between people's legs. And obviously coming out the other side. I don't loiter."

KURT COBAIN
"In truth, I actually knew very little about him until he died. For some reason, I managed to avoid the music. And when he died, like many other people, I suddenly noticed him. But really I wouldn't say I had a special time set aside for him. Obviously I knew of his death. Lots of people manage to weather fame and they don't self destruct. And lots of people remain reasonably happy. Yes, lots of people are ruined by it, but I feel that dying isn't worth it. Perhaps he could have changed his life and been a completely different person and tried to do different things. I don't know."

MUSIC BUSINESS
"It's actually a horrendous business and it's never wise to say so, because that statement always seems very attention seeking and pitiful. But it's a truly horrendous business and it's no surprise that most artists end up on heroin or dying. It's very, very vicious. And it's almost impossible to be able to keep anything for yourself because there are so many people wanting to take it off you. It's very difficult. And the amount of people who need things from you is endless. There are those in the industry whose parents weren't even born when I began. It's frightening. Suddenly, I'm dealing with vice presidents of record companies who are 10 years younger than me. And I hear a violin in the background. And the chair with the casters is mine."

HONESTY
"It's quite different when you sing about things. It's actually easier than talking about them. Spoken conversation and vocal melody are different - poetic license is afforded to you. To stand in a vocal studio room is quite different. People expect you to be a bit demented and a bit subhuman. If you sat in a pub with your peers or people in their thirties with huge pot bellies, and you began to talk about feelings which were considered to be adolescent, they'd simply stand for nothing and assume you to be slightly demented. But that's the great thing about making music. You can be completely perverted. No, I wasn't going to say that. You can approach perversion."

ARTISTS
"They're not really people, are they? not really. Because eventually you end up having had a lifestyle or an experience which most other people have never had. Because before you had the fame or success, you were working towards it. And your mind was very locked into that. And then when it happens to you, it really takes you further away from the human race. But it is a great journey."

The above interview was originally published in the October 14, 1997 issue of Melody Maker and is reprinted without permission for non-profit use only.