🔗 Share this article

The first song I became enamored with
My earliest recollection is walking into a room at kindergarten where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the audio textures, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I recall believing: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I bought
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to pick a new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I picked out Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I bought with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my father mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.

The track I do at karaoke
I candidly do not enjoy karaoke and steer clear at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I inexplicably recite each line to
I just discovered that I can recall almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The best tune to blast at a party
It hinges on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the party deepens, I’d work through Prince, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an undeniable hit.

The song I can no longer listen to
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Killers.

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

The album that transformed me
When I was 12 and just learning to learn the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was obsessed with Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock ’n’roll. The moment he put the vinyl on the record player, I was captivated.

The song that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The piece that brings me to tears
Most music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and sheer perfection of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord without fail.

The music I’d like played at my final send-off
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.