"E's not the best drummer in the Beatles!"

Sorry to HJH it, but I do like that one.

But there was an item (possibly in the NME) about how rock stars lost their virginity - how it happened, etc. There was a selection of male lead singers who had Byronic tales of being 14 in somewhere like Provence, being led astray by sultry older women over long summer evenings.

Then we get to Shaun Ryder, whose story involved just him and the couch in his mum's living room - in between the two main cushions.

said Steve Earle when he re-married one of his ex wives.

"The only thing an Eagles record is good for is keeping dust off the turntable" said Tom Waits.....he did take it back though.

... on rock n' roll: "The most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear."

"He's probably the single most untalented person I've heard in my life. He's a two-bit pretentious academic, and he can't play rock'n'roll, because he's a loser. And that's why he dresses up funny. He's not happy with himself, and I think he's right."

...that rather mean-spirited quote by Reed about Zappa but here's one by the more intelligent and entertaining of the two: "Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read."

(albeit you need the context) came when he was berated by a hotel manager while waiting for a cab in a hotel lobby. Zappa was listening to a small radio and the manager gave him an earful for listening to "that noise" in a public space. Our hero promptly returned to his room, turned his practice amp to about 12 or 13 and started hitting his guitar and making a god-awful racket. Very quickly, the manager returned but this time in apoplectic mode. As the dust subsided and the ringing in everyone's ears faded, Zappa commented: "That was noise. What I was listening to in the lobby was music."

The Human League's Phil Oakey in Smash Hits at the beginning of 1981, just after the split with what-was-to-become Heaven 17, and after the girls had joined: "I honestly think we'll have a number one record by Christmas." At this point, the writer expresses scepticism at this statement, on the basis that the band have never had a hit, have just lost their songwriters, and have replaced them with 2 girls from the local disco and the guitarist from The Rezillos. "You haven't heard the new songs," says Phil, "I've heard the songs."

A virtually identical quote from Martin Fry (also from Sheffield, I've realised as I'm typing this) was in the Christmas NME in 1980. Paul Morley's interviewing Vice Versa and asks them what's in store for the year ahead: "We're going to change our name to ABC, and we want to make the ultimate pop album."

... Charlie Watts' view of being a Stone.

...“[So what was it like meeting him?] I didn't meet Chris Martin, ... He met me.”

I can't quite remember the exact words. Bob Dylan is being introduced to Peter Grant.
PG: "Hello, I'm Led Zeppelin's manager"
BD: "Man, do I come to you with my problems?"

Whose description of Chris Martin as a 'student knobhead' was quite succinct.

"If you choose the lesser of two evils, you're still choosing evil."

Jerry Garcia

"He's never forgiven God for not making him Angie Bowie."

"and that, my friend, is why I'm an international rock star and you're presenting a programme on Radio 5"

greeting a hacks sceptisim about sid's musicianship with "Sid plays good now"

The Zappa story above sounds like a variation on the Keith Moon story. In the days before Walkmen existed he was listening to the latest Who album in a hotel lounge on a casette player, familiarising himself with the songs before a tour began. Asked to turn it down, he led the employee to his room, left him outside while mayhem erupted within. It ended with the door being blown off its hinges with cherry bombs at which point Moon emerged waving the casette exclaiming "That was noise. This is The 'Oo".

... and commented on his lined face.

"They're laughter lines, George" says Sir Mick.

"Nothing's that funny, Mick" comes the riposte.

"I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know. "

Noel (or Liam) on Chris Martin from Coldplay, something along these lines:

"he's living a dream, he's a famous singer in a rock band, a famous millionaire selling loads of records and playing sold out stadiums, he's married to a Hollywood star - so how come he's still such a miserable c*nt?"

but 2 super models. I think Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.
Claudia to Naomi 'just finished your autobiography. It was very good. Who wrote it for you?'
Naomi to Claudia 'so pleased you enjoyed it. Who read it to you?"

Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.- Johnny Cash

interview in MM around 1980. So one of them (the drummer I think)is explaining to the interviewer how he, you know, quite rates the Beatles and their songs are quite moving.
"Wot, you like the Beatles?", asks a bandmate, incredulous.
"Yeah I do", replies the drummer.
"Why you fucking soft wet prat", comes the rejoinder.

Art least they didn't sack him.

told a story about being at a party talking to some bloke who said " I used to really like you in the Yardbirds"

Jones pointed out he was never in the Yardbirds to which the man replied
"I think you'll find you were!"

The quote that always sticks with me is from Detroit based rocker Ted Nugent about 1977. Asked if he had done a lot of drugs in the 60's, he said,"I smoked a couple of joints back then. Didn't feel as nice as having a good woman. Or a good sh*t, for that matter."

commenting on Princess Diana's good looks, Ted once said "I'd drag my dick through 3 miles of broken glass just to jerk off in her shadow".
ouch!

at a press conference in San Francisco circa 1964/65 His Bobness was asked what his songs were about. Puffing on a ciggie, he replied laconically:

"about 4 minutes, 5 minutes, some are even 9 minutes"

"I don't write songs, I make them up"

From a movie or TV show, a long time ago, would have seen it in the 60s or 70s and not again since. Anyone else remember this one?

"He's the most intelligent arsehole I've ever met"

Quoted in an early bio of Zappa by (I think) David Whalley.

Lemmy: "We want to be the band that if we moved in next door to you, your lawn would die"

Brian Wilson: "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you'll suck forever"

Keith Richards: "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow."

Steve Tyler: "I heard that your brain stops growing when you start doing drugs. Let's see, I guess that makes me 19"

Morrisey (about the Band Aid single): "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England"

Ozzy Osbourne: "I can honestly say, all the bad things that ever happened to me were directly, directly attributed to drugs and alcohol. I mean, I would never urinate at the Alamo at nine o'clock in the morning dressed in a woman's evening dress sober".

frank skinner when interviewing ozzy ozbourne said ' when i was 16 i used to be in a band which played Parnoid.'

ozzy's reply 'so was i'

The Gang of Four (part 2): "We don't need nude tarts on the front of our sleeves to sell records".

Quite, and why would you need to when you can have the mighty EMI send their stooges on to the high street to buy multiple copies of "At Home He's Always A Tourist"?