The Actor's Revealing Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Loves to Peculiar Aversions
The earliest tune I became enamored with
My earliest recollection is entering a space at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the sonic landscape, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The first 45 I bought
When I was eight, I was victorious in a competition at school to pick a brand new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to a local store, and I opted for Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I purchased with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my dad mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.
The tune I do at karaoke
I candidly do not enjoy public singing and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The piece I oddly remember each line to
I recently realised 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 song to blast at a party
It relies on which phase of the event you are at. Early doors it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the party deepens, I’d work through Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an undeniable hit.
The number I can never bear
I strangely detest Mr Brightside by the Killers.
The ultimate piece to have sex to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
The record that altered my perspective
When I was 12 and beginning to study the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. As soon as he put the vinyl on the record player, I was captivated.
The track that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The track that makes me cry
Virtually any music makes me moved. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and utter beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going every time.
The track I’d like performed at my funeral
The King. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.
