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The first song I was captivated by
My most primal recollection is walking into a room at kindergarten where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the sound effects, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I recall believing: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I bought
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a contest at school to choose a new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The track I sing at karaoke
I frankly actively avoid public singing and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d choose Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The piece I inexplicably know all the words to
I not long ago discovered that I know pretty much every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect track to play at a party
It relies on the point of the evening you are at. For the beginning it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into the Artist, the Rolling 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 undeniable hit.

The song I can no longer hear
I strangely cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

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 six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, the killer, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and the rockabilly star. Then my childminder introduced me to 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 hooked.

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

The piece that makes me cry
Most music leaves me touched. Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all stir my emotions because of the harmony and utter perfection of the singing. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner strikes a chord without fail.

The song I’d like performed 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.