The Actor's Candid Playlist: From Early Favorites to Peculiar Aversions
The first track I became enamored with
My most primal memory is stepping into a room at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The inaugural record I bought
When I was eight, I was victorious in a competition at school to select a brand new vinyl to play at the weekly dance party we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I picked out Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Colne. It was number one at the time, and I selected it when my father pointed out that it was by a former member of the Beatles.
The track I perform at sing-along
I candidly do not enjoy karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But if I had to, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The track I inexplicably know all the words to
I just realised that I know pretty much every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.
The ideal tune to play at a soirée
It depends on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an massive track.
The song I can no longer listen to
I strangely detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The best track to make love to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
The LP that changed my life
When I was twelve 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, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder brought round Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock ’n’roll. As soon as he placed the vinyl on the turntable, I was captivated.
The tune that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The piece that makes me cry
All music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and pure beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord every time.
The track I’d like to be played at my final send-off
Elvis. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.
