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The first tune I became enamored with
My earliest memory is entering a room at kindergarten where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the audio textures, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The inaugural single I acquired
When I was eight, I won a competition at school to select a brand new vinyl to play at the mini disco we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was number one at the time, and I chose it when my dad pointed out that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I perform at sing-along
I frankly cannot stand karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I inexplicably remember every lyric to
I just discovered that I know virtually the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The best track to blast at a soirée
It hinges on which phase of the evening you are at. Early doors it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into the Artist, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The number I can not listen to
I for some reason cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The best track to get intimate to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The album that altered my perspective
When I was twelve and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with The King, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was high voltage rock music. The moment he placed the record on the record player, I was a fan for life.

The song that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The song that brings me to tears
All music makes me touched. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and pure beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going consistently.

The track 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.