I had a strong sense of destiny in my youth. I don’t know what my parents thought of me moving to London when I was 22. I never thought about it and I didn’t go home to Akron, Ohio, for 35 Christmases. I regret that now.

I used to play at being a horse with a little herd of friends in elementary school. While the other girls would go and watch the boys play kickball, we went off and would neigh and jump. That’s where I thought I’d be, living in the country with horses. Maybe it will still happen.

I never made it on the strength of my looks. I just look like any bum in a mall in America. I don’t have to worry like women who were known for their beauty and then get all freaked out as they get older, and for that I feel lucky.

My accent confuses people every single day. They expect this little English girl in a miniskirt and then they hear this American truck driver.

I love my neighbourhood in west London. My shopkeepers don’t know who I am or what I do. I couldn’t live like that in LA. As long as I have a band [The Pretenders] that’s based in London, I’ll be here.

We’re losing the war over animal rights, but it’s still worth fighting for. The thing with meat eating is if someone doesn’t ask for advice and you give it to them anyway, they hate you for it. So you really have to wait to be asked. I’m always in fear of becoming a bore about it.

My favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a 700-verse Hindu scripture and I love the verse that says your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You can either pull yourself down or lift yourself up.

I wouldn’t recommend being a single mother. But I would rather be single than be in conflict with someone. [Hynde has a daughter with Ray Davies of The Kinks and another with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds.]

I wish I could cook. I just snack. In my fridge today is half a carton of almond milk and half a jar of raspberry preserve – that’s all.

I buy music magazines if there’s no fear of me being in them.

Hands are delicate things. I don’t like to shake hands. I had my knuckles crushed by a guy in a heavy metal band once, so I prefer giving a fist bump.

I avoid the things that make me unhappy – alcohol, drugs, tobacco. Those things have featured my whole life and I realised they are all depressants. I don’t miss being drunk. The only time it’s good is when you’re a kid on the dancefloor.

I’ll always pick an English paper over the New York Times. In the States, the journalism doesn’t get straight to the point. They don’t have that Jeremy Paxman approach – I love him and wish he hadn’t gone.

I want to finish my career like a prize fighter. I must be in decline if you do the math, but I feel pretty OK.

Chrissie Hynde’s latest single “Down The Wrong Way” is out now. She will play the iTunes Festival with Blondie on 16 September