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The initial tune I was captivated by
My earliest memory is entering a space at kindergarten where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the audio textures, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the refrain, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I purchased
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a competition at school to pick a new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to a local store, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The track I perform at karaoke
I honestly do not enjoy public singing and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The track I inexplicably know each line 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 every song on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect track to blast at a gathering
It relies on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the party deepens, I’d work through Prince, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an absolute banger.

The number I can not listen to
I for some reason loathe Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ideal song to have sex to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The LP that transformed me
When I was 12 and starting to study the guitar, 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 Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was powerful rock music. The moment he put the record on the turntable, I was hooked.

The track that wakes me in the morning
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.

The song that makes me cry
All music makes me emotional. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Fab Four all stir my emotions because of the harmony and pure brilliance of the vocals. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going every time.

The music I’d like played at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.