Plus, you know, when I was young, there was a lot of respect for clowning in rock music - look at Little Richard. It was a part of the whole thing, and I always also believed that it released the audience.
No, I always felt that amongst my core fans- because there was a level of popularity that I had in the mid `80s that was sort of a bump on the scale- they fundamentally understood the values that are at work in my work.
My only general rule was to steer away from things I played with the band over the past couple of tours. I was interested in re-shaping the Rising material for live shows, so people could hear the bare bones of that.
My image had always been very heterosexual, very straight. So it was a nice experience for me, a chance to clarify my own feelings about gay and lesbian civil rights.
Talk about a dream, try to make it real.
