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The initial track I became enamored with
My most primal memory is stepping into a space at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The very first record I bought
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a competition at school to pick a brand new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I picked out Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first single I bought with my own allowance was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Lancashire. It was number one at the time, and I selected it when my father mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.

The song I do at sing-along
I honestly actively avoid public singing and avoid it at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I inexplicably know every lyric to
I recently realised that I can recall almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The perfect tune to put on at a soirée
It depends on which phase of the event you are at. Early doors it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the party deepens, I’d work through the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an undeniable hit.

The number I can never listen to
I strangely cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

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

The record that altered my perspective
When I was 12 and starting to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on The King, the rock pioneer, the killer, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was high voltage rock music. As soon as he dropped the vinyl on the turntable, I was a fan for life.

The song that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.

The song that makes me cry
All music leaves me moved. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles all make me cry because of the tune and sheer perfection of the vocals. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner hits me hard consistently.

The track 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.