The Actor's Revealing Playlist: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Aversions
The first track I fell in love with
My first memory is entering a space at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the hook, I distinctly thought: “This must be music!”
The first 45 I acquired
When I was eight, I won a contest at school to select a new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I purchased with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Colne. 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 tune I do at karaoke
I candidly cannot stand public singing and dodge it at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The piece I strangely know all the words to
I just realised that I know almost 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 put on at a party
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 party deepens, I’d move on to the Artist, the Rolling Stones and Bowie, and when it hits its peak, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.
The song I can no longer listen to
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The best song to get intimate to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that changed my life
When I was twelve and just learning to study the guitar, I’d only listen to early rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with The King, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter brought round Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock ’n’roll. Instantly after he placed the vinyl on the record player, I was captivated.
The song that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.
The track that makes me cry
Most music leaves me touched. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and sheer beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley strikes a chord every time.
The song I’d like performed at my final send-off
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.