🔗 Share this article

The first tune I was captivated by
My first memory is entering a room at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I purchased
When I was eight years old, I won a contest at school to pick a new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by the group 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 chose it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The song I perform at karaoke
I honestly cannot stand public singing and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d choose Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The track I inexplicably know all the words to
I recently became aware that I know almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect track to put on at a gathering
It relies on the point of the event you are at. At the start it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the night wears on, I’d move on to the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an undeniable hit.

The number I can never listen to
I strangely loathe Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The ideal track to get intimate to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The record that altered my perspective
When I was 12 and starting to play the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on The King, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. The moment he dropped the record on the record player, I was captivated.

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

The piece that brings me to tears
Virtually any music makes me touched. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the tune and utter beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going without fail.

The song I’d like performed at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.