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Desert Island Discs

After much contemplation my chosen eight songs are..

Lindisfarne - Road to kingdom come 

Growing up one of my first experiences of listening to music was playing old Beatles singles on a stereogram in me mam and dads house. The Stereogram was this huge wooden ottoman type piece of furniture that had loads of storage and a record player, wireless and speaker built in. I remember me mam used to have all her Abba albums stored there and my sister had a few records in there too (Debbie Harry ??). There was also a box where lots of cassettes were kept and this is where I stumbled across this song, my dad had a copy of the Lindisfarne anthology and I used to play it loads - I found it hilarious that Fog on the Tyne had a line in it about having a wee on a wall. The song I kept coming back to and played over again and was the first ever "ear-worm”  I can remember is this one. I can remember riding round the streets on me bike and having this song going round and round in me head.

Madness - Our House 

When I was younger. I actually thought this song was about OUR house which was in the middle of our street. So I related to it straight away. I really like Madness and listened to them loads when I was younger - to the extent that I had every single word of it memorised - me and Gaz Cowens used to test each other on all the Madness lyrics. It wasn't just Madness, me and Gaz knew all the words to all the police records too!

Dire Straits - Tunnel of love


The first record I ever bought was Walk of Life by Dire Straits. It was from the Our Price store on Clayton street. I can remember getting off the bus at Marlborough Crescent and I used to get dragged along Clayton street to Fenwicks by me mam. This one day on the way back she let me buy a record and I chose Dire Straits. I think some people find it uncool to like Dire Straits and in that respect they are a bit if a guilty pleasure of mine. I chose tis song as It brings back different memories from many different times. The song itself is about going to Spanish City at Whitley Bay as a kid and thats something our group of friends did loads. Looking back I cant believe that me mam used to let us go all the way over there when we were so young. At Uni I was talking to a lad about Dire Straits and he recommended this song. I got it straight away.  I used to have a job where I worked away a lot and spent a lot of time on the motorway, I used to listen to their greatest hits a lot and this song reminds me of that too.


The Waterboys - The whole of the moon


Ive always liked this song. It  reminds me of going to the match when I was younger, Its that line "you're there at the turnstiles with the wind at your heels". I can remember standing on the scoreboard with me mates and hearing it. Happy days


Kirsty MacColl - New England


I was going to choose Walk Away Renee by Billy Bragg but after much deliberation went for this version of one of my favourite Billy Bragg songs. MacColls versions is a lot more shiny and poppy. A song about those years in your twenties where youre not sure where your life is going and what's gong to happen and at the same time everybody else seem to be sorted. Reminds me of stuff, got there in the end. 


The Stone Roses - Made of Stone


The Roses were my favourite band in my teens and the album this song is from regularly tops my favourite ever list. Theres no doubt Ive listened to that album as a whole more than any other and that Ive bought it on countless occasions. So I had to choose a song from it and this is then one I probably play the most. Love the guitar solo, love how a pop song can be so dark.


Oasis - Some might say


I'm not the biggest Oasis fan but when they first came out I loved them. Their first album was released  when I was in 6th form and it knocked The Roses (And Suedes first album) out of me ghetto blaster. This song was released in the summer after  whenI finished my A-Levels and I loved it. The thing it reminds me of most though is my first two years at Uni. If I had to pick one song to sum up that time it would be this, I can vividly remember Morning Glory being played everywhere I went. Walking along past the Halls of residence in the sun at the Lawns and hearing this blasting out. Great times


McAlmont and Butler - Yes


The perfect pop song. Love it. Enough said. 

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