🔗 Share this article

The earliest song I fell in love with
My most primal recollection is stepping into a space at kindergarten where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the audio textures, and Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I recall believing: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I acquired
When I was eight, I was victorious in a competition at school to pick a brand new vinyl to play at the mini disco we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to a local store, and I picked out Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my father noted that it was by one of the Beatles.

The track I perform at karaoke
I frankly actively avoid karaoke and steer clear at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I oddly know all the words to
I recently discovered that I have memorized almost every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect track to put on at a gathering
It relies on which phase 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 party deepens, I’d transition into the Artist, the Rolling 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 massive track.

The track I can not listen to
I for some reason detest Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ultimate song to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The record that transformed me
When I was twelve and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the record player, I was a fan for life.

The tune that gets me up in the morning
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by The Genius.

The song that makes me cry
All music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the tune and pure beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord consistently.

The track I’d like to be played at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.