Rick Astley
Singer, songwriter and radio presenter
When I was about 14 and got my first drum kit, I wanted to be a drummer in a band like the Police.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In my teens, an accountant. In my 20s, either a rock star or a novelist.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 October 2020 source ↗
Others on this question
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Rachel Whiteread
English artist
First something medical, then, without any doubt, an artist.
Jo Nesbø
Norwegian writer and musician
I wanted to play for Tottenham.
Johanna Konta
British tennis player
When I was five, I wanted to be a cleaning lady; when I was nine, I wanted to be the world’s number one tennis player.
More from Ian Rankin
View profile →I’d give myself some fashion sense.
Fondly and down the centuries. I think partly what drives writers to write is the yearning for immortality.
There wasn’t a lot of bullying at my school, but there was a fair amount of ragging – and I knew which side I wanted to be on. I’d say sorry to anyone who felt picked on.
More on identity & self
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