The Actor's Honest Playlist: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Aversions
The first song I fell in love with
My earliest memory is entering a room at preschool where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The very first record I acquired
When I was eight years old, I won a contest at school to choose a new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I opted for Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Colne. It was No 1 at the time, and I chose it when my father noted that it was by one of the Beatles.
The tune I perform at sing-along
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The piece I strangely know each line to
I recently became aware that I have memorized pretty much 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 ideal song to blast at a soirée
It depends on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the night wears on, I’d transition into 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 undeniable hit.
The song I can never hear
I inexplicably loathe Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The ultimate track to have sex to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that changed my life
When I was 12 and starting to study the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on The King, Chuck Berry, the killer, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock music. As soon as he placed the record on the turntable, I was a fan for life.
The tune that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.
The track that makes me cry
Most music makes me moved. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all stir my emotions because of the harmony and utter brilliance of the vocals. 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 buried, I’ll have Way Down.
