Musician

I kind of have to bite my tongue sometimes with my lyrics.

That's the life, really, isn't it? You write. You record. You play. And it never grows old.

You've got to be able to compromise in a band; otherwise, somebody's more important than the next guy, and that's never been the case in Priest.

It's best to keep things as free and open as you can. It's good to have a template, but then you go back and dissect it and see where you can make improvements. That's pretty much been the case with every Priest song that's ever been written.

The thing about rock & roll, and the black leather biker jacket - it automatically creates an idea about what that person might be about, about their musical taste or their attitude.

When I was a kid, dealing with trying to discover myself, I didn't have anybody to talk to. I didn't have any Internet and didn't have any friends. You felt very alone and very frightened.

It's very tempting for certain generations to say, 'Well, I just want to be in a band, and I want to be a rock star,' or whatever. That's not what it's about. Firstly, you've got to be in it for the love and the passion that you have for the music, and then you take it from there.

I think I've improved in a lot of ways because of being able to stay clean and sober.

I discovered that I was gay when I was about nine or ten. I did go out with girls for a while, but it didn't last.

The first thing I will say about looking after your voice is get a pair of in-ear monitors because one of the most common problems singers have is trying to hear themselves on stage.

I think the last thing you want in life is to live with regret.

The moment I came out as a gay man, I never really thought of the consequences. Of course, the proverbial happened: it hits the newswires, and it's this big, big thing.

When you start in any band, I don't think you have any idea as to how long your particular journey is going to last. You really don't have a clue. I think that when you come together as musicians, that's the furthest thing from your mind.

You don't fully appreciate your band until you're away from them.

The thing about gay people is that until we come out of the closet, we're always protecting other people: 'I can't do this, because it's gonna hurt so-and-so.' We're trying to live the lives of other people, and that's the worst thing you can do.

I love heavy-metal music more than anything in the world, but I'm equally drawn to Michael Buble or Michael Feinstein.

I think I'm still a lone wolf, internally. And I always will be.

I love people. I love being in a band. I love making music.

Don't put yourself on a pedestal. Because it's very easy for someone to knock you off.

We've always had this fantastic relationship with America.