The Actor's Honest Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Peculiar Aversions
The initial tune I became enamored with
My earliest memory is stepping into a space at preschool where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the sound effects, and John Lennon shouting: āFull speed ahead!ā When it reached the chorus, I remember thinking: āThis must be music!ā
The inaugural record I bought
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a competition at school to choose a new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I purchased with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Lancashire. It was number one at the time, and I selected it when my dad mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.
The tune I do at sing-along
I frankly actively avoid public singing and steer clear at all costs. But under duress, Iād select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The song I strangely recite all the words to
I not long ago realised that I can recall almost 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 song to blast at a soirƩe
It relies on the point of the evening you are at. Early doors it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the evening progresses, Iād transition into the Artist, the Rolling Stones and 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 track I can never listen to
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.
The best track to have sex to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that changed my life
When I was twelve and beginning to play the six-string, Iād only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was consumed by The King, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder introduced me to Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. The moment he dropped the vinyl on the turntable, I was captivated.
The track that gets me up in the morning
Whatād I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The piece that makes me cry
All music makes me moved. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and pure brilliance of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going every time.
The music Iād like performed at my memorial service
The King. If Iām cremated, Iāll have Burning Love. If Iām laid to rest in the ground, Iāll have Way Down.