First record you can remember
‘Let’s Go To Misterland’ – The Mr Men
“I think everyone lies about this choice – they ignore their
pre-teen pop career. This was my first record. It even had Windsor
Davies singing ‘The Bump Song’ on the B-side. There was also the
theme from the Ragtime show. They weren’t y or charty, it was a
small sub-cult, a pre-teen thing. Nowadays it’s been corrupted into
legalised aural paedophilia – the equivalent would be the new Billie
single.”
Song that reminds you of school
‘House Of Fun’ – Madness
“They had the attitude, didn’t they? It’s difficult to pick one song
that represents your whole time at school, but Madness sum it up
best, innocuous songs with a secret subtext. It sounded like jolly
circus music to your parents but you knew it was about buying your
first s. Plus the video was great.”
Record That You Fell in love to
‘The Belle album’ – Al Green
“I absolutely love the title song and I go all queasy when I hear
it. It’s about God which is odd but as a result I can see myself
getting heavily into Christianity one day. Though I understand Al’s
a horrible fundamentalist now.”
Heartbreak Song
‘Ooh Child’ – Valerie Carter
“She’s a country & western singer from America and the song plays at
the end of the great teen movie, Over The Edge when all the kids are
bussed off to a detention centre. The greatest happy sad record I’ve
ever heard.”
Record That Evokes The Greatest Summer Of Your Life
‘Pelican West’ – Haircut 100
“Adam and I were both big fans of ‘Pelican West’ and it still stands
up. The jangly guitars and bongos on ‘Fantastic Day’ never fail to
bring summer to life.”
Record For a Night On The Tiles
‘Gettin’ Jiggy Wit’ It’ – Will Smith
“I think this was invented and written by aliens from a superior
universe. It never fails to make me get jiggy with it. There’s a
great bit of scat singing at the beginning and the sample sounds
better than the original.”