The Actor's Candid Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Aversions
The first tune I was captivated by
My most primal recollection is walking into a space at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The inaugural 45 I purchased
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to select 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 opted for Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought 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 father pointed out that it was by a former member of the Beatles.
The track I do at sing-along
I honestly actively avoid karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The song I oddly remember every lyric to
I not long ago realised that I have memorized 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 ideal track to blast at a soirée
It hinges on the point of the party you are at. For the beginning it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into Prince, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an massive track.
The track I can not bear
I strangely cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The ultimate piece to get intimate to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that changed my life
When I was 12 and just learning to study the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was obsessed with Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder introduced me to Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock ’n’roll. The moment he dropped the vinyl on the record player, I was captivated.
The song that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The piece that gets me emotional
All music leaves 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 tune and utter beauty of the vocals. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going every time.
The track I’d like played at my memorial service
The King. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
