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The first song I fell in love with
My earliest recollection is stepping into a room at kindergarten where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the hook, I recall believing: “This must be music!”

The inaugural single I bought
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 Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I picked out Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I chose it when my father pointed out that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I sing at sing-along
I honestly actively avoid public singing and dodge it at all costs. But under duress, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I inexplicably remember every lyric to
I just realised that I can recall almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The ideal track to play at a gathering
It hinges on the point of the party you are at. Early doors it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it hits its peak, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The song I can never bear
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ideal piece to make love to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The record that transformed me
When I was 12 and starting to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was consumed by Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock music. The moment he dropped the vinyl on the turntable, I was hooked.

The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The song that makes me cry
All music makes me touched. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all stir my emotions because of the harmony and utter beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going without fail.

The music I’d like performed at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.