John Simm's Candid Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Peculiar Aversions
The first tune I became enamored with
My first memory is stepping into a room at nursery school where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was captivated by the sonic landscape, and John Lennon yelling: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the chorus, I recall believing: “This must be music!”
The first record I acquired
When I was eight, I won a contest at school to select a brand new vinyl to play at the small dance we had on Fridays. My instructor took me to Woolworths, and I opted for Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a music store in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I chose it when my father mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.
The song I do at karaoke
I candidly cannot stand karaoke and avoid it at all costs. But if forced, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The track I inexplicably recite every lyric to
I not long ago realised that I know almost all the lyrics to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and every song on Graceland by Paul Simon.
The perfect song to blast at a gathering
It hinges on the point of the evening 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 the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an absolute banger.
The number I can never bear
I for some reason loathe 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 altered my perspective
When I was 12 and just learning to study the six-string, I’d only listen to early rock and roll, and was obsessed with The King, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by the Australian rockers. It was still rock’n’roll, but it was electrifying rock ’n’roll. As soon as he put the vinyl on the turntable, I was hooked.
The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say parts 1 & 2 by The Genius.
The song that brings me to tears
All music leaves me touched. Aretha Franklin, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Fab Four all bring a tear to my eye because of the harmony and pure brilliance of the singing. But The Ocean by the Sheffield crooner gets me going without fail.
The music I’d like played at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
