Pete Doherty

It was always my ambition to be on the cover of a free gay magazine.

Liverpool and London are two places I looked upon as home.

I've turned my back on fancy parties and red carpets. I'm a writer, and if I did that, I'd never get anything done.

This bloke in Rome once took his camera off and cracked me round the head with it, and I'm bleeding. He was a bit bigger than me, the Italian photographer, but I thought, 'I can't back down now,' so I sort of squared up to him. Luckily, my mate jumped round and bit him on the neck.

I can't see why people call me a bad influence. I meet a lot of kids who are into music. I spend as much time as I can with them. I listen to their demos, and I'm encouraging.

I'm not saying that maybe there isn't a kid out there whose behavior hasn't been influenced by me in some way. I'm sure there is. But I can only speak for myself, and if you'd asked if my behavior had ever been affected by people I'd admired from afar, like musicians or footballers, that'd be a yes, totally. Right down to their hand gestures.

I'd never say I wouldn't fight a war. In different ages, I would have done. I'd have fought the Vikings.

Music and fashion and art - they were the things we were willing to die for. 'Is my hair all right? Have you heard this tune?' They're the things that saved us. They're the things that are saving kids on Nuneaton council estates. There's no other way out.

Money wasn't important to me. Once I discovered music, I was quite happy to live as a bum. As long as I had my music and my band, I was happy.

Babyshambles were offered some money to have a comeback. Good band, they were - amazing tunes.

I feel a lot better when I've got a bit of cash on me.

My brother and I are not rivals. We are shipmates and best friends and the greatest songwriting partnership in the world.