Viv Albertine

It's me who fixes the roof, unblocks the drain, and changes the plug. I'm Spartacus.

A lot of the men I've dated have been incapable of even basic kindness.

Finding another person to love is finding another person to lose.

I'd like to be with someone kind who can hold a conversation and is in my age group. If that's too much to ask, I'll do without.

We grew up during the 'peace and love' of the 1960s, only to discover that there are wars everywhere, and love and romance is a con.

I didn't have many role models or interesting women to get stirred up by until Yoko Ono came along.

I think I function well in most parts of my life but possibly not in that emotional side of my life.

I absolutely wasn't going to write a book if it was just going to be about punk.

My mother was so ignorant of what could have befallen me and was probably so exhausted - she was one of the first generation of single parents as well - that it was all a bit overwhelming. So the naivety of parents meant we did have a certain amount of freedom.

When I was pregnant, I prayed that my daughter would have brown, green, or grey eyes.

I could be completely mad and sound like David Icke, but I just find people with blue eyes colder, less passionate, and more calculated people.

It's all very well for the Kinks and Damon Albarn to sing those songs and sneer at Mr. Nine to Five, but again, they're white men, so they didn't have it very hard.

You've got one life: find your voice within it.

I didn't pursue happiness at all. I've never pursued it. I wasn't brought up to pursue it.

There's a fine line between brave and mad. But whatever I do, I go for it.

I haven't found music comforting since the '80s, but it doesn't mean it's not good - it just doesn't work for me. It's shocking to me because music was my religion from the age of 11, and it's like I don't believe in my god any more.

I think, often, people who do something new creatively don't benefit financially from it - it's the people who come after and make them palatable that make money.

The older I get, the more the lying, the losing touch with your true thoughts and feelings, and the compromises required to fit in seem not worth the effort. It's my one go on Earth; why spend any more of it conforming to other people's rules and ideals?

If my 18-year-old daughter asked me whether she should lead a truth-hunting, artistic, uncompromising life as I have done, I'd say no, don't do it. It's a difficult and lonely path for a woman.

I've never had any interest in reading the real-life stories of criminals. I don't want to get inside their heads.