The Actor's Revealing Playlist: From Early Favorites to Peculiar Dislikes
The first song I became enamored with
My earliest recollection is walking into a space at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the audio textures, and Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to 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 new record to play at the small dance we had on Friday afternoons. My teacher 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 pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was topping the charts at the time, and I chose it when my father noted that it was by one of the Beatles.
The track I sing at sing-along
I frankly cannot stand public singing and dodge it at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The piece I oddly know each line to
I just realised that I know almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by Paul Simon.
The best track to play at a soirée
It relies on which phase of the evening you are at. Early doors it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the night wears on, I’d move on to the Artist, the Rolling Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.
The track I can no longer bear
I for some reason detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The ideal song to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that changed my life
When I was 12 and just learning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to early rock and roll, and was fixated on The King, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder 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 captivated.
The tune that motivates me in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.
The song that makes me cry
Most music leaves me emotional. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and sheer perfection of the vocals. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going without fail.
The track I’d like to be played at my final send-off
The King. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.