My dad was a quiet assassin. He was really charming and smiley and softly spoken, but he could knock you out in a second.
Most people I know think that I'm crazy - but anybody who actually knew Billy Thorpe didn't think that. When I was a young kid growing up in Adelaide, he was a big pop star - a well-dressed, nice young guy seen on television every week. Mums liked him.
The music industry is quite brutal and quite harsh and can be spirit shattering, but it's an honour to be a musician because your job is to make sure people enjoy themselves; to make people forget about their troubles.
My dad was a prize fighter in his youth. My boxing skills are very limited. I did train for most of my youth but couldn't really see the point of getting punched in the head. I'm a lover, not a fighter, but I do enjoy the sport in its purest form. As a child, my heroes were my dad and Muhammad Ali.
When I hear a singer, I want them to be passionate and intense, and soul singers like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett always seemed to do exactly that.
Success isn't about reaching your goals; it's about striving for things, like the joy of trying to raise a family, trying to be a successful singer, trying to write good songs, trying to be a better person. It's that old thing about life being about the journey, not the destination.
