Donovan: The 5-Minute Interview

'Men must speak of the gentler side'

Donovan, 60, is appearing tonight and tomorrow night at the Jazz Café in London, supported by his daughter, Astrella Celeste. The concerts mark the launch of the paperback version of his autobiography 'The Hurdy Gurdy Man' and the release of a rare set of recordings on EMI 'Donovan - In Concert'.

If I wasn't talking to you right now I'd be ...

Reviewing songs for our performances.

A phrase I use far too often is ...

Yeah, mon. Jamaican style, meaning yeah, I understand.

I wish people would take more notice of ...

Global awareness, unity of man, peace on earth, all of those phrases once seen as naïve now take precedence. We have to take more notice of unity. The TV and internet brought the planet together and now it's up to us to keep it together.

I'm good at ...

Communicating via my music and poetry.

But I'm very bad at ...

Business and numbers.

The best age to be is ...

18. Youth is wonderful. It was then when I had the extraordinary realisation that I was able to communicate with millions.

The ideal night out is ...

Outdoor concert by the sea, stars above, in summer in the South of France.

A common misconception of me is ...

That I'm not manly or masculine because I sing about peace and flowers. It doesn't bother me that much but this isn't the case at all - men must speak of the gentler side.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

Inner peace leads to outer peace.