"I read Wiseguy, the book that Goodfellas is based on, before I knew that Goodfellas existed. I was, like, 15 and found it in the school library. Then at the end it was a footnote that was like, “Oh by the way, Scorsese made this into a film.” At 15 or 16, I saw Goodfellas for the first time. Was mesmerized. And then also, it was the first time I probably watched a movie or a film with the beginning of an adult perspective on things. Where it wasn’t just participating in the story, but seeing what a masterpiece it is that someone created that. That those performances individually were so fantastic that the story, the shots, the music… The first time I understood the elements of film coming together, being a conscious choice for those things to be in the film, and then the effect that it had on me. As opposed to being a kid and a viewer, and being like, “I like that thing.” I’m not unique in this, I think, but I can go back every six months and watch that movie and still be so excited to see it. I’m always ready to watch it. I wanted to be Henry Hill as a kid. Growing up in the country with no excitement around us, I wanted to be half Irish, half Italian, and adopted by this family I could never be a part of. That whole scene. I just wanted that life. Or as a kid, I thought I wanted that life."

"Phil Lynott. Genius. And a bass player as well. Have you noticed that most of the music normally comes from guitarists? But he was the driving force in this band. He was a skinny black guy, who was writing great songs and dealing with the consequences of racism in the UK at that time. He was always the main attraction to me. A real rock star and you'd feel that whenever he walked into a room. You can instantly recognise Phil's voice, and he had a really cool way of creating melody on songs like 'Jailbreak'. This album is distinctly Irish, and I'm not sure why I think that to be honest but it definitely makes it special. At the time they were about as unique as they could be. And it was quite successful in the charts, which, along with seeing bands like them on Top Of The Pops, was another important factor. After Phil died and Thin Lizzy came back a few years ago we took them out on tour but that's partly because the songs have held together so well even to this day. It was a real joy to do that and to be able to hear those songs played every night, and played so well. And to be honest I think that's enough, because the songs are really what matter. They're still playing together, but I think they're called Black Star Riders now. The last record was very good, but nothing compared to this."