The Actor's Candid Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Aversions
The initial song I became enamored with
My first recollection is walking into a space at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the audio textures, and Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the refrain, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The inaugural single I acquired
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to choose a brand new vinyl to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I picked out Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I purchased with my own savings 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 dad mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.
The track I sing at sing-along
I frankly cannot stand public singing and steer clear at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The song I inexplicably remember all the words to
I recently discovered that I know pretty much every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by Paul Simon.
The ideal tune to blast at a gathering
It hinges on which phase of the party you are at. For the beginning it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d work through Prince, the 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 absolute banger.
The number I can not bear
I for some reason cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The ideal song to have sex to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The record that altered my perspective
When I was twelve and starting to study the six-string, I’d only listen to early rock ’n’roll, and was consumed by Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. Instantly after he put the record on the record player, I was hooked.
The track that motivates me in the morning
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.
The track that gets me emotional
Virtually any music leaves me emotional. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Beatles all make me cry because of the harmony and sheer perfection of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord without fail.
The music I’d like performed at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.
