🔗 Share this article

The first track I became enamored with
My most primal memory is stepping into a room at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the sound effects, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first single I bought
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to choose a brand new record to play at the mini disco we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I bought with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Colne. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The track I do at sing-along
I frankly actively avoid karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The song I oddly know each line to
I recently became aware that I have memorized almost every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The best song to play at a party
It depends on what stage of the evening you are at. For the beginning it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d move on to the Artist, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.

The track I can not bear
I for some reason cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The best piece to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The LP that transformed me
When I was twelve and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock and roll, and was consumed by The King, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was powerful rock music. The moment he put the vinyl on the record player, I was hooked.

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

The track that brings me to tears
Most music makes me emotional. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and pure beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley strikes a chord consistently.

The music I’d like to be played at my final send-off
Elvis. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.