Jan Willem Vink interviews the Jesus rock veteran.

"Because I'm not writing for Christians. I'm writing for the unconverted mind."

But in a tour like this one in Holland 80 or 90 per cent of the people who come to your concerts are Christians.

"Yeah, that's great. I assume that's why, if eighty per cent are Christians, the other twenty per cent of non-Christians showed up at all, because they got invited. I'm not responsible for who listens to my music. If Christians want to look over my shoulder while I'm writing to the non-Christian mind, that's fine. Because these Christians, that are listening to the music or coming to my concerts were at one time not Christians -and the letters that I've gotten here, I've got over 600 letters so far at the hospital and here where I'm staying to recuperate -a lot of these letters say that I was the only Christian artist that ever made sense to them when they decided to become a Christian. So the fact that they're a Christian now doesn't mean they're prohibited from listening to the next album that I'm making. You don't have to be a non-Christian to listen to my music. It just helps to understand that if you didn't grow up in a WASP church in America... No, I think the only thing I ever wrote for Christians was 'Sweet Song Of Salvation', and I wrote that in my sleep. I woke up singing the chorus and scribbled it down so I could go back to sleep and then recorded it. I really didn't want to but when I did my album 'Upon This Rock' the publishing company encouraged me to include that one, and so I did; and wouldn't you know it, that was one of the big songs off the record, even though it's hardly a respectable ditty. It's kind of silly, I think, but my publisher was right. That's the song that they heard, which they said, 'This is going to be covered by a lot of artists' and, 'People will want to sing this.' But it was pretty inferior to the rest of the songs on the album. So that's the only song I've ever written specifically for Christians, and I was asleep at the time so I don't want to be held responsible too much!"

What are the most outstanding incidents in your career, or what moments have been most precious?

"Any time somebody became a Christian and came up afterwards and wanted me to pray with them. Any time I've gotten a letter that explained their journey through life. Any time I've walked up to somebody on the street and talked to them and they decided to become a Christian. These are the precious memories I have. I met a girl a couple of years ago who said, 'Have you ever been to England' and I said, 'Yeah, lots of times'. She said, 'Were you there in 73', and I said 'Yeah'. 'Were you ever in a place called Mayfair? I know who you are', and I didn't recognise her and she turned to her friend and said 'I never told you this, but I used to be a prostitute. One day Larry walked up to me, started witnessing, and I became a Christian.' So those are the best memories I have. Street witnessing, helping people, and finding out years later that they stayed with Christ, they didn't fall away, and that they weren't destroyed by their sins."

Are there any things you wish you had never done?

"Yeah, I wish I had never produced all of the artists I've produced, because some of it was kind of a waste of time. The artists enjoyed the success of their record sales but never continued to preach the gospel once they became popular. So I regret working with those kinds of artists. But I am really happy about the artists that I helped, that I discovered and produced, or heard and got them a record contract with some company; I'm proud of them for continuing to preach the gospel."

But that's something you used to do more in your early years than you do now?

"Well, I keep it a secret now. I don't tell people that I'm interested in helping artists because I get too many cassettes from people. But every time I hear somebody that I like, I help them. I get them a record contract with some company, or I produce them, or I do a duet with them on one of their songs, or I do a video with them, something like that. I think we're supposed to be working with our brothers and sisters for the good of the gospel and I continue to do that, but I'm always telling artists that I no longer have a record company, and I can't produce you, and I can't help you place your songs with somebody else. Unless the music knocks me down on the ground with it's power I don't want to encourage somebody to get into the commercialised industry because I don't want their souls to get lost. It would be better if they never became an artist than for them to become an artist and remain shallow in the Lord and then fall away as the years go by. I don't want to be encouraging somebody toward perdition or toward collapse."

How did the death of Mark Heard affect you?

"Well, it was really a shock. After I got out of the hospital we went out to dinner together and I talked to him and explained how happy I was. I told him how much I loved him and have always respected him as a human being and a Christian and that I also was a big fan of his music. I thought he was a real genius, an undiscovered genius, and I told him that I think in the future when a lot of people start to grow up they'll discover your music and think, 'Wow! This is intense'. I'm really glad I got to talk to him because I didn't know he was going to die a couple of months later. So I was real shocked, because at the time I told him, 'Mark. I've put you in my will. I don't know how much longer I have to live. I just want to tell you now face to face how much I love you and I want you to know that there's something for you when I'm gone.' So I was pretty demolished when I found out that he was in the hospital and real sad when I found out he was not going to live."

Thanks for the interview.

"It's nice to sit here in my pyjamas and do an interview instead of having to get dressed up and go down to some newspaper. Thank you very much."