Bernard Sumner

I tend to think in images and feelings rather than non-abstract concepts. ”

Being a single mother in the late 1950s was a very shocking thing - and dreadful thing - for people. ”

In Salford, we had fish in our tap water. I remember, one hot summer day, running to the toilet at playtime and dunking our heads in a sink full of water. I remember putting my head in and seeing all these little fish in it. ”

I see all the musicians in Blur with equal standing, really. ”

I first read about hypnotism at school, and I used to do tricks like getting a really skinny guy to arm wrestle the local bully. ”

In New Order, I played about 95% of the synths. It's not much fun for the other guys in the band when I'm playing my synth parts. ”

There's challenges in life that present themselves unexpectedly, and if you rise to them, then those challenges will toughen you up. ”

Thatcher was wrong. People don't exist - well, they don't flourish - as individuals. Life's about swapping ideas and communicating with other people. ”

People come up to me and say, 'You changed my life.' I don't think I changed anyone's life. I think their life changed while they were listening to the music. ”

As you get older, you kind of take a more sober view of life. ”