🔗 Share this article

The initial track I became enamored with
My most primal recollection is walking into a room at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was mesmerized by the audio textures, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the refrain, I recall believing: “This must be music!”

The inaugural record I purchased
When I was eight, I was victorious in a competition at school to choose a new vinyl to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I chose Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I purchased with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a record shop in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I chose it when my father mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I sing at karaoke
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But if I had to, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The track I strangely remember each line to
I not long ago discovered that I have memorized 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 track to blast at a soirée
It hinges on what stage of the party you are at. At the start it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the party deepens, I’d transition into Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.

The track I can not listen to
I strangely cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The best track to have sex to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The record that transformed me
When I was 12 and just learning to study the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, Chuck Berry, the killer, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was high voltage rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the record player, I was hooked.

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

The song that gets me emotional
Virtually any music leaves me emotional. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Beatles all bring a tear to my eye because of the melody and utter perfection of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going consistently.

The track I’d like to be played at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.