John Simm's Candid Musical Selections: Starting with Childhood Favorites to Unexplained Dislikes

The initial song I became enamored with
My most primal memory is walking into a room at nursery school where they were blasting Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the sonic landscape, and Lennon bellowing: “Full speed ahead!” When it arrived at the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first single I acquired
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to pick 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 Colne. It was No 1 at the time, and I selected it when my father mentioned that it was by one of the Beatles.

The song I do at sing-along
I candidly do not enjoy karaoke and dodge it at all costs. But under duress, I’d select Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.

The song I strangely know each line to
I recently discovered that I know almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and each track on Graceland by the legendary songwriter.

The best tune to play at a soirée
It hinges on which phase of the event you are at. Early doors it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. As the party deepens, I’d move on to the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by the techno pioneers, and Ascension by Gorillaz, which is an undeniable hit.

The number I can no longer bear
I strangely detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.

The best piece to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.

The album that changed my life
When I was twelve and beginning to learn the six-string, I’d only listen to 1950s rock and roll, and was fixated on Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, the New Orleans legend, Buddy Holly and the rockabilly star. Then my babysitter brought round Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was high voltage rock music. Instantly after he put the vinyl on the record player, I was hooked.

The track that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by Ray Charles.

The track that brings me to tears
Virtually any music leaves me emotional. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Beatles all stir my emotions because of the harmony and sheer beauty of the singing. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley gets me going without fail.

The track I’d like performed at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m buried, I’ll have Way Down.