The Actor's Candid Playlist: Starting with Childhood Loves to Unexplained Aversions
The first tune I fell in love with
My earliest recollection is entering a room at preschool where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the audio textures, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the refrain, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”
The first record I purchased
When I was eight, I won a contest at school to pick a brand new vinyl to play at the weekly dance party we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I bought with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my dad mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.
The song I perform at karaoke
I frankly do not enjoy public singing and avoid it at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.
The track I strangely know every lyric to
I recently realised that I can recall almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by Paul Simon.
The perfect song to play at a soirée
It relies on what stage of the event you are at. At the start it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it hits its peak, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.
The track I can never listen to
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Killers.
The ideal track to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The LP that transformed me
When I was 12 and just learning to study the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock and roll, and was fixated on Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter introduced me to Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock ’n’roll. The moment he dropped the record on the turntable, I was captivated.
The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The piece that makes me cry
Most music leaves me moved. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all stir my emotions because of the harmony and utter perfection of the singing. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner hits me hard without fail.
The music I’d like played at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m given a cremation, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
