MICK HEAD’S SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

From The Clash to 'Ciao Ciao Bambino'...

First Record You Can Remember

‘Ciao Ciao Bambino’ – Marino Marini And His Quartet

“I can’t remember who sang it. Some Italian dude. My memory of it is me mother changing me nappies and always singing it.”

Advertisement

Record That Reminds you of School

‘Sorrow’ – David Bowie

“I was really into Bowie when I was at school. I had an older cousin who was into Bowie and Roxy Music at that time, and for me, being, like, young, and at school – and me dad didn’t really have any good records, just Elvis – it was good to get someone else’s perspective on music. And she was a . That done me.”

Record You Fell In Love To

‘Don’t Give Up On Us’ – David Soul

“That song came out around the time that I was in love with someone, and I don’t think I liked it, really. But I guess it said something to me at a time that I was gutted about being in love with someone and them not loving me back.”

Advertisement

Record That Evokes The Greatest Summer Of Your Life

‘Peaches’ – The Stranglers

“The B-side to ‘Peaches’ really sums up summers when I was a kid. ‘Goodbye Toulouse’, I think is what it was called (Actually, it was ‘Go Buddy Go’; ‘Goodbye Toulouse’ was on the ‘Rattus Norvegicus’ LP – 1977 Ed). I wasn’t ever really that into The Stranglers, but for some reason when you say the word ‘summer’, that song comes into my head. I remember having a really good summer when ‘Peaches’ came out. Mind you, it was 1977, so it was a really hot summer, of course it was top.”

Heartbreak Tune

‘Comedy’ – Shack

“I wrote it with the lad who formed The Pale Fountains with me, and now he’s . I find it hard to get through the song without thinking of him.”

Record For A Night On The Tiles

‘More Than A Feeling’ – Boston

“That riff (proceeds to hum it enthusiastically) is in about nine different songs. It’s such a good riff, that everyone has to use it. Personally, I love that song. You know when sometimes, within yourself, you go, like, ‘Come on!’, trying to get yourself going, and you’ve got a song going in your head? Well, for me, the music in my head is always ‘More Than A Feeling’.”

Record That Inspired You To Form A Band

‘Camera Camera’ – The Teardrop Explodes

“Tony Wilson, who did Factory Records, had a show – which might have been a regional thing, I’m not sure – called So It Goes. It opened with ‘Shot By Both Sides’ by , so that grabbed you straight away and you found yourself watching the program whether you wanted to or not. I had just seen The Teardrop Explodes’ first ever gig, and for us in Liverpool, So It Goes was really important because we got to see, like, Echo & The Bunnymen before they had their drummer, and The Teardrop Explodes in their full glory.”

Record Guaranteed To Clear The Tourbus

‘Thank You’ – the Pale Fountains

“There are some songs that make me want to vomit when I hear them, but I don’t know what would be guaranteed to clear the rest of the lads off the bus. Probably ‘Thank You’ by The Pale Fountains. I know for a fact that they would all want to go the toilet at the next services if I put that on. It’s a bad song.”

New Year’s Eve, 1999 – What’s On The Hi-Fi? ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ – Queen

“I know a lot of people don’t like them, but I grew up with Queen. For me, personally, there was Bowie, and then there was Queen, and then there was punk. So what can I do? Nothing.”

Record You Would Like Played At Your Funeral

‘Complete Control’ – The Clash

“Just because it’s fantastic. No other reason.”

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories