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The first tune I was captivated by
My earliest recollection is entering a space at preschool where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized 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 years old, I won a competition at school to choose a brand new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I purchased with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was number one at the time, and I chose it when my father mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I sing at karaoke
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The piece I inexplicably know every lyric to
I recently became aware that I can recall pretty much every word 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 party
It relies on the point of the party you are at. Early doors it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d move on to Prince, the Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.

The track I can no longer listen to
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ideal song 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 fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter brought round Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the turntable, I was hooked.

The song that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.

The piece that gets me emotional
All music leaves me emotional. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the tune and pure brilliance of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going every time.

The song I’d like played 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.