🔗 Share this article

The initial song I was captivated by
My first memory is walking into a space at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was mesmerized by the audio textures, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The very first record I purchased
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to pick a new record to play at the small dance we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I chose Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I purchased with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a record shop in Colne. It was number one at the time, and I chose it when my dad mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I sing at karaoke
I candidly actively avoid public singing and avoid it at all costs. But if I had to, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I oddly know each line to
I recently realised that I have memorized pretty much all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The ideal tune to play at a soirée
It depends on which phase of the event you are at. For the beginning it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the night wears on, I’d move on to Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The number I can not hear
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ideal piece to make love to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The record that changed my life
When I was 12 and just learning to play the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, Chuck Berry, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder introduced me to Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. Instantly after he placed the vinyl on the turntable, I was hooked.

The tune that motivates me in the morning
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.

The piece that makes me cry
All music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles all make me cry because of the tune and pure perfection of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going every time.

The track I’d like to be played at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.