🔗 Share this article

The first tune I became enamored with
My earliest memory is stepping into a space at kindergarten where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first single I purchased
When I was eight years old, I won a contest at school to pick a new vinyl to play at the mini disco we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I picked out Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my dad noted that it was by one of the Beatles.

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

The piece I oddly remember each line to
I not long ago realised that I can recall pretty much all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The perfect tune to put on at a soirée
It hinges on which phase of the party you are at. Early doors it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the evening progresses, I’d work through the Artist, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it hits its peak, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The track I can no longer listen to
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The ideal track to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The album that altered my perspective
When I was twelve and starting to study the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly 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 electrifying rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the record player, I was captivated.

The song that motivates me in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.

The song that makes me cry
Virtually any music leaves me moved. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and pure brilliance of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley strikes a chord every time.

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