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The earliest tune I was captivated by
My most primal recollection is entering a room at kindergarten where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The very first record I bought
When I was eight years old, I won a contest at school to select a new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to a local store, and I picked out 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 No 1 at the time, and I chose it when my father noted that it was by one of the Beatles.

The track I do at sing-along
I candidly actively avoid public singing and steer clear at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The track I oddly recite every lyric to
I recently discovered that I have memorized virtually all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The best song to blast at a party
It relies on which phase of the party you are at. For the beginning it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the night wears on, I’d move on to the Artist, 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 the virtual band, which is an massive track.

The song I can no longer bear
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

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

The record that changed my life
When I was 12 and starting to study the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my babysitter played Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still guitar music, but it was powerful rock music. Instantly after he dropped the record on the turntable, I was captivated.

The song that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.

The song that brings me to tears
Virtually any music makes me touched. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles all make me cry because of the melody and pure perfection of the vocals. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley hits me hard without fail.

The song I’d like performed at my final send-off
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.