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The initial song I became enamored with
My most primal recollection is entering a space at preschool where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the sound effects, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the refrain, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I acquired
When I was eight, I was victorious in a competition at school to choose a brand new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I picked out Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I bought with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a record shop in Lancashire. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The track I sing at karaoke
I honestly cannot stand karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d choose Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The piece I inexplicably know each line to
I not long ago discovered that I know virtually all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect track to play at a soirée
It depends on which phase of the party you are at. Early doors it would likely 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 Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.

The track I can never hear
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The best song to make love to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The LP that transformed me
When I was twelve and just learning to play the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on The King, Chuck Berry, the killer, 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. Instantly after he dropped the vinyl on the record player, I was hooked.

The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by The Genius.

The song that makes me cry
All music makes me moved. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the tune and pure beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley strikes a chord every time.

The music I’d like played at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.