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The first tune I became enamored with
My most primal recollection is stepping into a space at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The very first 45 I purchased
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a competition at school to choose a brand new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first record I purchased with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Lancashire. 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 tune I do at sing-along
I candidly do not enjoy karaoke and steer clear at all costs. But if forced, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The piece I oddly recite each line to
I recently discovered that I can recall virtually the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The best tune to play at a party
It depends on which phase of the evening you are at. At the start it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the party deepens, I’d transition into the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The track I can never bear
I inexplicably detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The ultimate track to have sex to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The LP that altered my perspective
When I was 12 and starting to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock and roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock ’n’roll. As soon as he placed the record on the record player, I was captivated.

The song that wakes me in the morning
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.

The song that makes me cry
All music leaves me emotional. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the melody and sheer beauty of the vocals. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going every time.

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