I started writing songs when I was about 16, and it's been my passion ever since. When I was 16, I loved the Beatles. In fact, for about a year there, they were all I listened to. They were it, no one else. I actually felt guilty about listening to other music, like I was being unfaithful. Nothing else compared. Listening to someone else would have meant depriving myself of an opportunity to fill my ears, my mind, with that Lennon/McCartney magic. That's when I began to appreciate what a well written song was. Although, at that stage, I was more excited by the musical side of songwriting: the chords, the melodies, the harmonies. Lyrics were almost immaterial.

I decided one night that I was going to write songs. I grabbed the TV guide and turned to the section where they listed the week's movies. I went through the list and wrote down every movie title on which I thought I could base a song. Then, I sat on my bed with my guitar, and started writing these silly little ditties. I remember writing one that night called "Flying High" (the Australian title of the movie "Airplane!"). I loved composing, and I wrote heaps of songs over the next seven or so years.