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is probably right. I think, like a lot of fathers with their sons, like no one else they know where to finger you. And he had a very, very wicked sense of humor.
    Are you implying that he taught you valuable lessons for your life as a rock star?
    He took the Dublin position of “My son, the fucking idiot.” That was the whole thing. So when he walked into that kitchen, you see, downstairs, where there were those presses [Irish and Scottish for cupboards ]—they’re still there—he went: [shouting] “Ha! [claps hands] Did they see you coming, or what? You big eejit! Antiques . . . Ha! They’re rabbit hutches. You wouldn’t keep animals in them. You probably paid a fortune for them, haven’t you? You fool.” Any risk you were taking, he’d just look at you with his eye raised and would just shake his head in disbelief at your stupidity. “Oh dear, oh dear . . . You really didn’t see that one coming, did you?” So, after years and years of things not utterly falling apart as he was expecting, he became kind of bemused at his own bad weatherman. My brother was always very industrious, a very innovative kind of a fellow, very savvy in business, knew how to make a buck, and ambitious in that sense. But I never showed any of that interest in making money at all. So my father thought this was very funny that I started to accumulate some cash.
    He was right, I would say.
    He was right. He thought: “God must have a sense of humor; he has given my son who never had interest in cash far too much cash. Now let’s all have a bit of a laugh watching him flitter it away, because this boy obviously is going to blow it on all the wrong things.”
    What was he like with your kids?
    He loved kids, loved his grandchildren. His big thing, of course, was, when I would have children, I would find out what it was like to be a father. The pain, the torture, et cetera. So when I went and told him that Ali was pregnant, he burst out laughing. He couldn’t stop laughing. I said: “What are you laughing at?” He said [very low voice]: “Revenge.”
    So was he right? Has your experience of fatherhood been as difficult as his?
    No. There’s rarely a raised voice in our house. Ali’s mood prevails. It’s kind of serene in comparison.
    And how did your father get along with Ali?
    Oh, very well. Women loved him. He was completely charming and he was great company. And as long as you didn’t want to get too close, he was happy. I think he could reveal himself to women a lot easier than to men, which is something I probably have in common with him. I think he was a very great friend. He had a lot of woman friends. And I do too. So there must be something there.
    Did he give you any advice on how to handle your money?
    â€œDon’t trust anyone.”
    Did you follow him on that?
    I absolutely didn’t. Trust is very important to me. Let me digress. You know, in the supermarkets, they have a way of pricing. It’s a digital read-out: price-coding. So now, when you bring your food, you put it up and they just read it. Edge was telling me about this guy who recently did a study in MIT: ten percent of all accounting through this system is erroneous. Except the ten percent works both ways, which is to say . . .
    . . . that sometimes you win . . .
    Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And it’s completely even. So no one has really bothered about the system’s problems. Therein, in a way, is alesson about trust. If you trust people, you are going to be burnt ten percent of the time. I’m quite a trusting person; however, ten percent of the time, you’re going to find yourself in situations that you wouldn’t have, had you been more cautious. I mean, you’re gonna find yourself in very good situations that you wouldn’t have, unless you took the risk. I think, that’s the difference