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The earliest song I was captivated by
My earliest memory is walking into a room at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was mesmerized by the sound effects, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first record I acquired
When I was eight, I won a competition at school to select a new record 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 the group Darts. The first single I purchased with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I chose it when my father noted that it was by one of the Beatles.

The tune I do at karaoke
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The song I strangely recite every lyric to
I recently became aware that I know almost all the lyrics 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 relies on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the night wears on, I’d transition into the Artist, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an undeniable hit.

The number I can never hear
I inexplicably detest Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The best track to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The LP that changed my life
When I was 12 and beginning to play the guitar, I’d only listen to early rock and roll, and was obsessed with The King, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter played Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock ’n’roll. Instantly after he put the record on the record player, I was captivated.

The song that wakes me in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The piece that makes me cry
All music makes me emotional. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and pure beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley hits me hard every time.

The music I’d like played at my final send-off
The King. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.