Leslie Bricusse

I'm musical in the sense that I can write a song, but I realised when I was learning the piano as a child that there were people who played it so much better.

Retirement' is a dirty word. Luckily, I can carry on working until I drop, provided I retain my mental abilities.

The film musical is a very strange animal. They can bite you in the back, or they can do very well for you.

I never try to predict what will happen to any project, ever. There are so many factors. Does the public like the subject matter, the way you handle it?

Writing songs and lyrics is not that different from doing the 'Times' crossword every morning. They both give you a good mental workout.

I fell in love with the idea of writing songs when I was a child. I thought I was going to be a journalist at first, but I gradually fell in love with all these great writers like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, who were at the peak of their powers then.

As a complete score, I love 'Sherlock Holmes' - but we cast it badly. We put Ron Moody into the part - a great Fagin, not a great Sherlock Holmes.

I think we have to assume we have one life. Though, having said that, I did write a song called 'You Only Live Twice.' I'll settle for that.

I was talking to a TV bigwig, and he said, 'Nobody under 35 knows who Sammy Davis is.' Well, you'll hear angry denials of that from younger people.

If you can't get a word at first, it's always waiting somewhere, and it's just a case of finding it.

I don't believe in giving in to old age.

I wanted to grow up to be George and Ira Gershwin from the age of about six.