I come from a very critical culture. You know the Scots. They're always saying: 'Oh, no. It will never work. You'll never amount to anything. You've got to know your place in the world.'

When I went out on tour as Bing Hitler I would hook up with Lenny and we'd get drunk together. He was always very supportive. He was a big star and a lot of what he said to me had power and impact. Apart from that, I just like him.

I've got young kids, so it suits me to do a job which keeps me in town right now.

I don't see my show as a stepping stone to something else like some people, who get a job then have a foot out the door looking for their next job.

The financial crisis in our country is not a passing storm. Given the size of the problems, our national effort will not be completed in 2012. It will take many years and will require the efforts and insistence of several governments.

We're prizefighters. That's what we become. Boxing has one of the biggest purses in sport. And in the sporting field, we probably make the most money.

The average Tea Partier is sincerely against government spending - with the exception of the money spent on them.

I grew up in an artists' community in New York, in a building that was government-subsidised for artists. No one made any money, but they made art for the sake of art.