With such a busy schedule how do you stay sane and keep on top of it all?

“I think it’s in your nature, in your individual character, how you manage to deal with the ‘Loony Tunes’ and ‘Disneyland’ world of being on the road, where everything is focussed and centred around you. If, when you come back into reality, you can deal with ‘normal’ - like going to the supermarket, putting the garbage out - it’s not a problem. You understand that it’s two sides of the coin that actually make the coin valuable. For some people, though, Disneyland is the only place they want to be. Like Keith Moon, whose whole life was built around what he had become - a 24 hour maniac rock ‘n’ roll star. You can’t ever imagine Keith having a normal day... Most drummers tend to be extremes though - there’s generally not a grey area – and to my detriment, or through the luck of the Gods, when I come off the road I find it very, very easy to switch it all off and just become Mr Average. I really believe that having the ability to do that gives you the chance to keep going for much longer.”

What drives you as a drummer?

“Well, I still enjoy playing the drums. Nothing that I play is orthodox; everything I have is self-taught with all the glories and downfalls that that brings. I don’t know why people like what I do - it’s not that clever, it’s not that technical - but, whatever it is, it communicates and I’m very, very frightened of mucking up something so precious. It’s not like coming to a full stop, but it means that I don’t go looking for other stuff which may dilute the very thing that makes my performance work, and when I do find something new it’s by accident. Maybe that’s a shame, but I am so protective of what I have, especially as I don’t know exactly what it is! I’ll listen back to things I’ve done and I’ll be mesmerised myself, because I don’t know what I did, or how I did it. All I do I know is that I’ll probably never do it again!””