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The initial song I fell in love with
My earliest memory is entering a space at kindergarten where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was enthralled by the audio textures, and John Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the hook, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I bought
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a contest at school to select a new record to play at the mini disco we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I purchased with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a record shop in Lancashire. It was number one at the time, and I chose it when my dad noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The song I do at sing-along
I honestly cannot stand karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The piece I strangely remember all the words to
I recently discovered that I can recall pretty much all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The perfect song to blast at a soirée
It relies on the point of the party you are at. At the start it would probably be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the night wears on, I’d move on to the Artist, the Rolling Stones and Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The number I can never hear
I strangely cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Killers.

The ideal song to have sex to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The LP that changed my life
When I was twelve and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with The King, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly 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. The moment he put the vinyl on the record player, I was a fan for life.

The song that motivates me in the morning
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by Ray Charles.

The track that gets me emotional
Most music leaves me touched. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Fab Four all make me cry because of the tune and sheer brilliance of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going without fail.

The music I’d like performed 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.