The British may not know much about music, but they certainly loves the noise it makes.
When my father arrived in Kenya, he had found the Kikuyu way of life similar to that of the British at the time the Romans invaded England 2,000 years ago.
I know too much about British politics to comment on British politics.
After that he turned to the question of invading England. Hitler said that during the previous year he could not afford to risk a possible failure; apart from that, he had not wished to provoke the British, as he hoped to arrange peace talks.
I spend a fair chunk of time in Los Angeles, and after about ten days of warmth and unbroken clear skies, you start to yearn for a bit of good old British gloom and rain!
If you came from Mars and tried to analyse British or American society through novels, you’d think our society was preponderantly full of middle-aged, slightly alcoholic, middle-class, intellectual men, most of whom are divorced from their families and have nothing to do with children.
The British do not expect happiness. I had the impression, all the time that I lived there, that they do not want to be happy; they want to be right.
It is absolutely bedrock to the British Army’s philosophy that a commanding officer is responsible for what goes on within his command.
One of the hardiest myths in British public life is that there is a conspiracy of silence on immigration. Liberals and leftists, it is alleged, have bandied together to prevent debate or discussion of ‘mass immigration’ into the U.K., caused by Labour’s ‘open door’ policies.
I love punk, I love a lot of British Invasion bands, I love garage bands.
I am very proud to be British. I’m very conscious of carrying my country with me wherever I go. I feel I need to represent it well.
On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education.
The British were indeed very far superior to the Americans in every respect necessary to military operations, except the revivified courage and resolution, the result of sudden success after despair.
‘Hot Fuss’ was all based on fantasy. The English influences, the makeup – they were what I imagined rock was. I’m a dreamer, you know? So I dug into that dream and made ‘Hot Fuss.’ But hearing people call us ‘the best British band from America’ made me wonder about my family and who I was.
Whether you agree with me or disagree with me; like me or loathe me, don’t bind my hands when I am negotiating on behalf of the British nation.
Growing up as a kid my father was British and a soccer player. His idol was a guy that passed the ball a lot, Stanley Matthews. Our family thought if you could be unselfish your teammates would always like you.
Everyone the world over talks about British actors and British talent and I think that’s because we were trained – until now – in theatre.
I’m getting comfortable with West Coast style, which is more laid-back than British style.
I still read the British papers, but I’ve never been a Royalist, ever. It’s funny, there always seems to be much more of a fascination with the Royal Family over here then there does in England.
I believe that a large part of the training in the regional theaters is in imitation of the British style of acting. The British orientation is textual; they start from the language and work toward the character.
It’s celebrated in British culture to be eccentric.
I think it’s important that we have a new batch of British film-makers that aren’t doing the same old stuff. And that includes me.
My husband doesn’t know what my songs are about – even when they’re about him. He’s very British in that way. He doesn’t ask, and he doesn’t want to be told.
I loved the MC5 and the Stooges, but also, the British Invasion – the Kinks and the Yardbirds – and then Led Zeppelin, of course. Alice Cooper was one of my favorite bands.
You hear entertainers all the time, saying, ‘If I couldn’t get paid for this, I’d do it for free.’ When’s the last time you ever heard a business person say, ‘If I couldn’t get paid for being chairman of British Petroleum, I’d do it for free’?
When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear American voices on them, and we held out.
The first condition of success for the League of Nations is, therefore, a firm understanding between the British Empire and the United States of America and France and Italy that there will be no competitive building up of fleets or armies between them.
They’re very harsh people, the British: hard to impress, very tough on each other, but I rather like that. It’s not that the British are more honest – you’re just under no illusion with them.
When I came to Britain I was in awe of the British press, afraid of them. But they’re not as ferocious as people think. In some instances they are, but when it comes to taking on power they’re really deferential.
The country I live in is never clear about its name. My passport says ‘the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,’ and citizens of the U.K. may call themselves British, English, Scottish, Welsh or from Northern Ireland.
With heavy hitters like ‘Who’s in Control’ and ‘Stunde Null,’ it’s easy to imagine British Sea Power wailing on Flying Vs in front of a packed arena of screaming fans.
I know I’m British. I haven’t spent much time in the U.K., but my parents are British, my family heritage is British, so if I wasn’t British, what would I be? I am British.
I am Scottish. I am also British.
People say there’s no trace of an accent anymore, and there isn’t because I worked very hard to lose it. And the reason I did that is a British accent in America is a real status symbol.
