The Actor's Revealing Playlist: From Early Favorites to Peculiar Dislikes
The initial tune I fell in love with
My first memory is walking into a space at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The first single I purchased
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a contest at school to select a brand new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my dad pointed out that it was by one of the Beatles.
The track I do at sing-along
I candidly do not enjoy public singing and dodge it at all costs. But under duress, I’d choose Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The track I inexplicably know every lyric 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 the legendary songwriter.
The ideal track to blast at a gathering
It relies on which phase of the evening 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 Gorillaz, which is an undeniable hit.
The number I can not bear
I strangely detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The best song to get intimate to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The record that transformed me
When I was twelve and just learning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to early rock and roll, and was fixated on Elvis, Chuck Berry, the killer, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock ’n’roll. Instantly after he dropped the record on the turntable, I was captivated.
The tune that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.
The song that makes me cry
All music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and utter perfection of the vocals. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner hits me hard every time.
The song I’d like performed at my funeral
The King. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
