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The earliest song I fell in love with
My most primal recollection is stepping into a room at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was enthralled by the sonic landscape, and Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The very first single I bought
When I was eight, I won 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 a local store, 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 music store in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I selected it when my father noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The tune I perform at sing-along
I frankly do not enjoy public singing and steer clear at all costs. But under duress, I’d choose Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The piece I strangely know each line to
I recently realised that I have memorized 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 best song to blast at a soirée
It depends on which phase of the party you are at. Early doors it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the night wears on, I’d work through the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it hits its peak, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an absolute banger.

The number I can no longer hear
I strangely loathe Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ultimate track to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The record that changed my life
When I was 12 and beginning to play the guitar, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was fixated on Elvis, Chuck Berry, the killer, Fats Domino, 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 high voltage rock ’n’roll. Instantly after he put the record on the turntable, I was hooked.

The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The piece that brings me to tears
Virtually any music makes me moved. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Beatles all bring a tear to my eye because of the melody and pure beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner hits me hard consistently.

The music I’d like performed at my memorial service
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.