Drummers From England

"And it's the damage that we do And never know It's the words that we don't say That scare me so."

"Oliver's army is here to stay Oliver's army are on their way And I would rather be anywhere else But here today."

"Clowntime is over Time to take over While others just talk and talk Somebody's watching where the others don't walk."

"Don't tell me you don't know what love is When you're old enough to know better."

"I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions And I'm giving you a longing look Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book."

"The boy said 'Dad they're going to take me to task But I'll be back by Christmas' It's just a rumour that was spread around town Somebody said that someone got filled in For saying that people get killed in The result of this shipbuilding With all the will in the world Diving for dear life When we could be diving for pearls."

"Is it all in that pretty little head of yours? What goes on in that place in the dark? Well I used to know a girl and I would have sworn that her name was Veronica Well she used to have a carefree mind of her own and a delicate look in her eye These days I'm afraid she's not even sure if her name is Veronica."

"While you lie in the dark, afraid to breathe and you beg and you promise And you bargain and you plead Sometimes you confuse me with Santa Claus It's the big white beard I suppose. Im going up to the pole, where you folks die of cold I might be gone for a while if you need me."

"Now Im dead, now Im dead, and you're all Going on to meet your reward. Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared? You might have never heard, but God's comic."

"There's always something that's smoldering somewhere I know it don't make a difference to you But oh! It sure made a difference to me You'll see me off in the distance, I hope At the other end At the other end of the telescope."

"Lie down baby now don't say a word There there baby your vision is blurred Your head is so sore from all of that thinking I don't want to hurt you now But I think you're shrinking."

"What shall we do, what shall we do with all this useless beauty?"

"Nonsense prevails, modesty fails Grace and virtue turn into stupidity While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts They still think they're the gods of antiquity If something you missed didn't even exist It was just an ideal — is it such a surprise?"

"Well there's a line that you must toe and it'll soon be time to go but it's darker than you know in those Complicated Shadows"

"Why can't a man stand alone? Must he be burdened by all that he's taught to consider his own? His skin and his station, his kin and his crown, his flag and his nation They just weigh him down"

"Now I just don't know who to tell to go to hell Who put the old devil in the distorted angel?"

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture — it's a really stupid thing to want to do."

"As I walk through This wicked world Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity, I ask myself Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred, and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, There's one thing I wanna know: What's so funny 'bout Peace, Love, & Understanding?"

"Like Johnny Gonzales said, "I wanna live till I die"."

"Everybody wanted to be with Sid, but unfortunately he came with Nancy. She was unbelievably thick-skinned, one of the most unlikable people I've met. Everybody could see through her, except Sid."

"As soon as (Sid) realised how much everyone hated Nancy, man, he stuck to her like a stamp to a letter. That´s why he was called "Sid": he hated the name Sid, so everyone called him Sid. That´s what that whole scene was about. But when we got fucked up, he got very violent actually. He was shooting speed before he met Nancy, and when she got him into dope it was a very easy switch to make; then it was all over for him. He`d never been with a woman before, where she had that kind of control over him... Nancy was an opportunist. I'm not even going to say whether I liked her or not, but she had a negative effect on Sid and he didn't need that."

"I'm not vicious really. I consider myself kind-hearted. I love my mum."

"I'll probably die by the time I reach 25. But I'll have lived the way I wanted to."

"Well, you know, like, I don't really give a fuck what the general public think."

"American audiences are just the same as anybody else. Except a bit more boring."

"The band broke up because I couldn't bear Rotten anymore because he was an embarrassment with his silly hats and his, like, shabby, dirty, nasty looking appearance."

"You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music."

"I've met the man in the street, and he's a cxxt."

"We had a death pact. I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby in my leather jacket, jeans and motor cycle boots. Goodbye."

"All I did was cash in on the fact that I'm good-looking and I have a good figure and girls like me."

"I'm not chic, I could never be chic. I was in it from its inception."

"Stewart Copeland is an amazing drummer. I just wish he didn't think he was amazing. Sting is a lovely bloke. We've become friends. I felt honored to be on stage with him at Live Aid."

"The subdivision you have to do as an incredible drummer who is also the lead vocalist is percussion in itself. On his first ever solo release, he plays what has to be the most iconic drum fill in existence — which is hard as a drummer at any stage of their career knowing that the most iconic drum fill has already been played and you will never be the person to write it."

"Don't mess with my Phil."

"Wait for it, wait for it! Anticipation is half the fun. So I've been told..."

"The world is in your hands, now use it."

"Well, I remember! I remember, don't worry How could I ever forget? It's the first time, the last time we ever met But, I know the reason why you keep your silence up, No you don't fool me. The hurt doesn't show But the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me."

"Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand. I've seen your face before my friend But I don't know if you know who I am. Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes. So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been. It's all been a pack of lies"

"I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord. And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord. Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord."

"Past a certain point, the music is no longer mine. It's yours."

"They're just horrible. Horrible, horrible guys. They're rude, not as talented as they think they are... I won't mince words here, but they've had a go at me personally."

"I wouldn't blow my head off. I'd overdose or do something that didn't hurt. But I wouldn't do that to the children. A comedian who committed suicide in the Sixties left a note saying, 'Too many things went wrong too often.' I often think about that."

"I can't remember those words (Lyrics) even when we were on tour."

"[On his Live Aid appearance with members of Led Zeppelin] They wanted me there early to rehearse the old Zeppelin songs, but I couldn't make it and I told them, "Listen, I know the songs. I know them backward and forward." Well, that day the tempos were all over the place, and it may have seemed like it was my fault, because I was the one who hadn't rehearsed, but I would pledge to my dying day that it wasn't me. In fact, it was Tony Thompson who was racing a bit; he was a bit nervous, I guess. It came off because of the magic of being Zeppelin; but I remember in the middle of the thing, I actually thought, How do I get out of here?"

"Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite."

"When we first started, they basically went John and Paul's way because they were the writers and they would say, "This is the song," and I would play as creatively as I could. Sometimes I would have three people telling me how to do it. They were saying play it this like on that track. I'm saying, "For Christ's sake, there are two drummers there." They could never hear that, you know. You'd have to have four arms to do half the stuff they wanted me to do."

"All I do is scream your name."

"The only way I'll get you is to get you in bed."

"The world's saddest man will live here in Los Angeles."

"I got blisters on my fingers!"