The Actor's Revealing Playlist: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Dislikes

The first tune I became enamored with
My first memory is stepping into a room at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the refrain, I distinctly thought: “This must be music!”

The first record I bought
When I was eight, 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 Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by Darts. The first single I purchased 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 chose it when my father noted that it was by a former member of the Beatles.

The track I do at sing-along
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra.

The piece I inexplicably recite every lyric to
I recently became aware that I know almost all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by Paul Simon.

The ideal song to play at a party
It hinges on the point of the evening you are at. For the beginning it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the evening progresses, I’d transition into Prince, the Stones and David 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 track I can no longer listen to
I inexplicably cannot stand Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

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

The record that changed my life
When I was 12 and starting to study the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock ’n’roll, and was obsessed with Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, 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 powerful rock ’n’roll. The moment he dropped the vinyl on the turntable, I was captivated.

The song 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 touched. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Presley and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the tune and pure perfection of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going without fail.

The song I’d like performed at my memorial service
The King. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.