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The earliest track I became enamored with
My earliest memory is entering a space at preschool where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the sound effects, and Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first 45 I acquired
When I was eight years old, I was victorious in a contest at school to choose a 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 Darts. The first single I bought with my own savings was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a record shop in Colne. 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 sing at sing-along
I frankly actively avoid karaoke and steer clear at all costs. But under duress, I’d go with Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The track I oddly know all the words to
I recently discovered that I have memorized virtually every word to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The ideal song to blast at a gathering
It relies on the point of the party you are at. At the start it would likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d work through Prince, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and when it really kicks off, Phat Planet by Leftfield, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an massive track.

The track I can no longer bear
I for some reason detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The ultimate song to make love to
Come Together by John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

The LP that transformed me
When I was 12 and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock and roll, and was fixated on The King, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, the glasses-wearing icon and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder introduced me to Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was powerful rock ’n’roll. As soon as he dropped 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 Ray Charles.

The song that makes me cry
Most music makes me touched. The Queen of Soul, Frank Sinatra, Presley and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the melody and utter brilliance of the voices. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going every time.

The music I’d like played at my final send-off
The King. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.