Kevin Ayers Quotes

United Kingdom, Singer-Songwriter
August 16, 1944 – February, 13, 2013.

Kevin Ayers was an English singer-songwriter who was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. Ayers was a founding member of the pioneering psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely associated with the Canterbury scene.

The music we made then was so amateurish, compared to the rest of mainstream pop or rock and roll. But what differentiated us from what everybody else was doing in the business was the fact that you could tell that these people came from different reference areas.

Kevin Ayers
- People
- Music
- Different
If I am not in love, nothing is meaningful to me. I have no energy.

Kevin Ayers
- Energy
- Meaningful

I can't write songs unless I am in love.

Kevin Ayers
England is so defined, the class system, your education. I think what was unique about the Canterbury scene.

Kevin Ayers
- Education
- Unique
We had literary references, so we knew what we were talking about. We could quote things, talk about books we'd read; you can say something, you don't have to explain it.

Kevin Ayers
The thing about 'Soft Machine' and me was that I never considered another profession.

Kevin Ayers
Honestly, I just assume that whatever is going to happen to me is going to happen. There it goes: someone is there, someone isn't there. This girl is here. This food is here. I think the clever people are the ones who do a little as possible.

Kevin Ayers
- People
- Girl
- Food
I think that the basic philosophy was very good. It was just be nice to each other, and don't step on other people's toes and infringe on their freedom.

Kevin Ayers
- People
- Good
- Freedom

These were all middle-class kids from literary backgrounds, joining this sort of train going by, this pop train, jumping on. Whereas the rest of the rock scene, you'll find that there's mostly working-class people.

Kevin Ayers
- People
- Kids
- Rest
That was something. As opposed to nothing.

Kevin Ayers