The first song I fell in love with
When I was a little boy, we had a caravan on the Isle of Sheppey, and I remember hearing My Sweet Lord by George Harrison one summer. It’s about searching for God, and I’ve always thought the way it moves from Hallelujah to Hare Krishna is really beautiful.
The first single I bought
Big Time by Rick James from Paul’s Music on London’s Cambridge Heath Road. Even at a young age, I liked my funk. I’ve only been addicted to two things in life – funk and praise.
The song I can no longer listen to
Les Misérables was really popular at drama school. I’d come from being an apprentice printer, and there were all these blokes with rollnecks, hair tied back, singing about Javert. I thought: I can’t stand it. Out of everything, Les Mis pisses me off the most.
The best song to play at a party
Candy by Cameo because it’s a funky line dance. Even if you can’t dance, you can just follow the person next to you.
The song I do at karaoke
I Just Want to Make Love to You by Etta James, because you’re probably pissed by that time of night, so you can sing or shout it and you’ll be all right.
The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate
My whole career, I’ve tried hard to appear erudite and articulate and not a caricatured cockney. But I do think Ain’t No Pleasing You by Chas & Dave is one of the best British songs of the last 50 years.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
I’ve known every word of Guitar Man by Elvis Presley since I was a kid, even though the syntax is really fast.
The best song to have sex to
Anything by Billie Holiday, really. But if my wife starts playing Strange Fruit, I’ve got something to worry about.
The song that changed my life
I wasn’t very confident when I was younger, especially with girls. When I first heard Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine by James Brown, I remember thinking:
I want to lose myself in this.
I could escape my own insecurities by dancing.
The song that gets me up in the morning
For Me… Formidable by Charles Aznavour makes me feel cultured while I make my morning coffee.
The song that makes me cry
When we had our first child, I was being driven to set in Virginia, and Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton, which he wrote when his baby boy died, came on the radio. When you have a new baby, you’re filled with all these new emotions.
I never realised the significance of that song until that moment.
The song I’d like played at my funeral
Are You Havin’ Any Fun? by Tony Bennett and the Count Basie Orchestra.
is on Now and Sky Cinema on 27 June.
