Janelle Monae and Julian Cope spring to mind straight way

Yeah, he and Parfitt always strike me as good blokes. Don't take themselves seriously, like a laugh, grateful for where they are...etc

Not a rock star, but I'd nominate Wolves manager Mick McCarthy as another non-boring man. Good sense of humour, and refreshingly free of cant.

is Rossi.

Funnily enough I was watching the Quo documentary Rock On... And On recently and he was very guarded and defensive in that. Possibly because he sensed the interviewer was looking to set him up for a traditional "Own up, Quo are crap, aren't they?" piss-take.

Someone else who always gives a great interview is Rick Wakeman. A very funny man, his tales of life on the road as the only meat-eating boozer in Yes are legendary.

Nick Lowe's generally good value

Get David Crosby going on any subject and you get good value. Particularly politics!

Partridge.

Waits

Always challenging.

... on a wide variety of subjects.

On a different level perhaps, Brian Eno seems to engage. I suppose he suffers a bit from "smartest man in the room" syndrome but he certainly goes beyond "new album, last book I read" when he talks.

Noel Gallagher very often engages as well. He was brilliant with Russell Brand on the radio and, I suspect, would be the perfect foil on something like Talksport.

Let us also never forget Neil Tennant.

is never boring.

I have seen him interviewed by Peter Hook and I was captivated by him. The look, the anecdotes, the accent. Rivetting stuff.

Also from personal experience, Johnny Marr. When I met him at the Southbank Centre we chatted for about fifteen minutes and unfortunately I had to make MY excuses thanks to a restless FPO. How embarrassing. Top bloke though. We chatted mainly about Jon Savage as I had a copy of England's Dreaming in my hand (now signed by Johnny thanks to the FPO's eye liner pencil).

I think Mr Rossi's position is safe........

Billy Bragg often enters interviews with a specific agenda (eg his Jail Guitar Doors project) but always seems quite willing to muck in and chat about anything. And has an opinion on everything, of course, which is no bad thing. He was a regular visitor to Simon Mayo's R5 show and always good value.

always worth a listen,tells a fantastic story and having met him,is an absolute Gent.
Here he is with Danny Baker

Noel Gallagher is very good. He's done a bit of radio in the last couple of years, I've really enjoyed it.

done for us" again... All rock stars are poor conversationalists except (insert long list of names here). I can't offer any names because I've never really been in a position to have a conversation with a rock star. I did once exchange a few words with Elvis Costello at a George Jones concert, though, and he was a very pleasant bloke.

...is by far the most erudite rock star I've ever interviewed: witty, self-deprecating but also assured and capable of speaking at length in easily transcribable 'complete written sentences'.

Captain Sensible, John Lennon, David Bowie, Dave Lee Roth, Little Richard, Iggy, Jarvis and Prince are all more boring than Francis Rossi? Shurely shome mishtake?

...Francis Rossi is good at being 'Francis Rossi, in the same way as Michael Caine is good at being 'Michael Caine'. There are certain people who can seem to embody, simultaneously, both an ongoing creative entity and a loveable self-parody/caricature of themselves - there's two examples. It means they'll never be short of an interview opportunity or willing audioence.

...Marilyn Manson often comes across as erudite, learned and with some very well-thought-out opinions on many subjects.

He spoke particularly well during Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine regarding censorship and the way music was blamed for so many of society's ills.

On the subject of interviewees, but not necessarily musicians, last night we saw a repeat of Donald Sutherland on Graham Norton's show. DS rarely gives a dull interview - he seems to have been everywhere and done everything, and always leaves an impression like the slightly mad uncle you always wished you had, if only for the sheer number of anecdotes you could tell about him.

If you get him on a good day, and give him the right subject: Intelligent, articulaute, opinianated & engaged

Incredibly well-read character who remained completely grounded and was, allegedly never boring.

Whatever you think of his music, his self-deprecation put Paul Morley to shame, can't be too bad eh?

Never heard the Lemster give a bad interview. He always cracks some dry humour or comes out with some straightforward, matter of fact common sense about the music, the business, drugs, women or anything else for that matter. Like this one.

and Ted Nugent, whom I've seen live a few times, is always good value and a touch crazy in an affable way. He is course the darling of the right wing US talk shows where he is given free rein against all things liberal, Obama, gun restrictions etc. Piers Morgan gave him a good run for his money a while ago and I called it a score draw. But my favourite sequence is this one: Ted on the subject of weapons ownership and the 2nd amendment.

Always used to enjoy his stuff with Radcliffe & Maconie.

He's bonkers and I don't really like any of his music very much. But he's hilairious, a real one-off.

and another nod for Billy B and Noel G.

Whilst he's a bit of a knob, I've seen a couple of great interviews with him. Very thoughtful. He comes over very well in Bowling For Columbine.

Obvious, but the beatles came across well. Wynton Marselles (ok a jazzer and I know I have probably spelled his name wrong) always engages.

Shane MacGowan would be interesting and entertaining if only you could understand him, plus ex-communard Richard Coles (the rev) is a very good presenter on Radio 4 on Saturday, interested in the guests and with a fair bit to say himself.

George Michael always gives good interview, even though interviewers always mine the same boring seam with him. He is open and candid and it appears that it is not like it is part of his showbusiness-self.

Ups also for Elton, Green G, Partridge, Wakeman, Tennant, B George, Noel, Tilbrook, Oakey, McCluskey.

Even on this day of mourning, I have to admit to Michael Stipe being a disappointment on the interview front.

His interviews are never boring. They're either hilarious or toe-curlingly confrontational.

Can be a very thoughtful, articulate and comprehensive interviewee, although he is often asked the same set of questions. Robert Wyatt is also clearly a very intelligent and self-deprecating chap (if not your conventional 'rock star') which comes across in all the interviews I have read.

The slight reservation I have with listening to Rossi is the severe 'blokeishness' of many of the interviews, but hey-that not's him, it's me.

The entire history of British pop/rock/jazz (alternative version).

Nicky Wire. Always comes over as a nice bloke in interviews, despite being fairly outspoken.

Many doubts about his later music - though he is what 70 odd now - and he's obviously got his interview strategies and war stories all worked out but all the same - he seems approachable and thoughtful

for decades I have mixed these two guys up, and somehow I never get it right.
I always believe that this is Rick Parfitt:

and this is Francis Rossi

surely I've got it right this time, haven't I? Mrs duco01 has been taking the piss out of me for decades because of this...

There's a fun packed, off the record, off piste giggle-a-thon 20 minutes of any journo's life right there and I won't hear of any dissent!

She's just lovely. At interviews.

A living, walking HORA.

always comes over as interesting when discussing music/guitar. On other topics I have no idea how he would fare.

Is there a preponderance of 'Mancs'/Northerners in this list?

Rod Argent is interesting.

Regarding certain unsavoury Quoular habits. Involving hotel balconies, passers-by and group onanism.