My honest playlist

There’s a regular feature in The Guardian called Honest Playlist where people choose – well, songs to make an honest playlist, whatever that means. Presumably, instead of a dishonest playlist? Who knows?

I doubt that my loyal reader will give a toss about my playlist but it’s my Blog and I’ll Blog if I want to, blog if I want to. Anyway, here goes!

The first song I remember hearing

I can’t be sure about this, but I think it was Sidesaddle by Russ Conway. My Auntie Gladys, who wasn’t really an auntie, had a few singles she would play when we’d visit her house and she played this one over and over again.

The first single I bought

The first single I bought with my own money was Ride A White Swan by T Rex. But for years, my mum had been buying me singles and I had a modest collection by then (then being 1970). I’d say the first single my mum bought for me was Not Fade Away by The Rolling Stones, which I took joy in playing at 78 RPM.

The song that is my karaoke go-to

 I have done  King of the Road by Roger Miller, It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones and Centrefold by J Geils Band, the latter in a Glasgow pub, where everyone joined in.

The song I know all the lyrics to

Loads, but loads more I’ve forgotten. I’ll go for I Am…I Said by Neil Diamond, which my mum said could have been about her. Diamond lived in LA but yearned to be home in New York City. My mum lived in Bristol but Rotterdam was always home.

The best song to play at a party

I’m not a party animal at all. But I do remember leaping about to Rhythm of the Night by Debarge in a nightclub donkeys years ago. I had a tache not unlike the one in the video, too.

The song I stream the most

I don’t stream. I still buy music because I want artists to get paid. At the moment, I am besotted by Love Love Love by My Morning Jacket and can’t play it enough.

The song that I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate

I have an obsession about telling the truth these days but it would have been The Promise by Girls Aloud which to me is as close to being a perfect pop song as you can get.

The song I can no longer listen to

Without You by Nilsson. The widow of an old friend had it played at his funeral and every time I hear it I am back in that crematorium, crying like a baby. Plus anything by Queen.

The song I want played at my funeral

Something lovely and upbeat. Today, my choice is Getting Better by The Beatles.