大象传媒

'My house today is bigger, probably. My parents weren't that wealthy - they were what we would call today middle class. We lived in nice houses outside of London. If you'd asked me 3 years ago - no dogs, no Eric, and now it is a completely different atmosphere, so it reminds me more of when I was growing up.' From his beautiful West London property, Simon Cowell goes back to the beginning and compares his family homes then and now.

'My mother played Frank Sinatra, middle-of-the-road stuff. Through my brothers I heard Led Zeppelin and Neil Young. The first record I bought was The Beatles.'

The public face of Simon Cowell has been a fixture in our living rooms for almost the entire 21st century. As a starmaker and record company mogul, his influence stretches back further still. But for all his fame and wealth, Cowell remains a private, unpretentious in his tastes and loyal to his friends.