The Actor's Candid Playlist: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Peculiar Aversions
The first tune I was captivated by
My earliest memory is entering a room at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sound effects, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the refrain, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The first 45 I purchased
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to select a brand new record to play at the mini disco we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record 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 a former member of the Beatles.
The tune I sing at sing-along
I frankly do not enjoy karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The song I strangely recite every lyric to
I recently became aware that I can recall virtually 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 track to play at a party
It depends on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the party deepens, 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 the techno pioneers, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an undeniable hit.
The track I can no longer bear
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Killers.
The ultimate track to get intimate to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
The record that altered my perspective
When I was 12 and just learning to play the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the record player, I was a fan for life.
The tune that motivates me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.
The song that brings me to tears
Virtually any music leaves me moved. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Beatles all make me cry because of the harmony and sheer beauty of the vocals. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord without fail.
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 laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
