Lulu

I don't want to be left in the past. When I stand next to Kylie, Beyonce or Rihanna, I don't want to be a decrepit old lady.

I didn't like any British music before The Beatles. For me, it was all about black American music. But then I became a successful pop singer, even though the kind of music I liked was more elitist, which is what I'm trying to get back to.

My mother always told me to take pride in my appearance.

When I'm singing, it's like I'm at home. And music is a great healer. I think I'd have been a basket case if I hadn't been a singer.

Boom Bang a Bang' was a huge part of me, maybe a part that I didn't relish, and there might be psychological reasons for that - I was a child being made to do things I didn't want to do. I was perhaps an elitist, a bit of a snob.

Time Bomb encapsulates everything I have learned over the years and wished I could find in a capsule collection. It's the absolute best skincare and body products I could envisage - and I am fussy. I am now able to indulge my love of beauty products and call it research.

Because I've been around forever and ever, like wallpaper, people ask me for secrets... it's the same with my skin care range; that's out of necessity. As soon as I saw the first signs, I bought everything in the market.

I feel I have been protected all my life. I am still here, for God's sake, and a lot of my contemporaries have gone. I'm very fortunate. No matter the difficulties - and we all have difficulties - I am definitely one of the fortunate ones. If I have any really good characteristics, one is that I am resilient.

I have a crush on Steve Tyler. He's funny, he rocks, and has a voice like a god. There is another one who I have discovered can sing. I should try and make an album with him... it's Barack Obama!

I am always keen to discover something new, but my advice is always to exfoliate. Get rid of those dead, dry cells; then the new skin is ready for moisturising, and you find your inner dewy, youthful glow. It's in there somewhere.

I think it's nice to have children. I didn't have many, and while I don't sit around regretting it, I maybe would have liked a couple more. But it wasn't meant to be, and I didn't want it badly enough.

Self-indulgence is something to watch, but anything that helps you understand situations that are difficult to understand is good. If you're having some sort of emotional trauma, you need to find a person to talk to about it who says, 'This is quite normal; it's fine.'