‘At my funeral I want people dancing in the aisles to Madness’: David Gray’s honest playlist
The singer knows all the words to Grease and channels Kenny Rogers at karaoke. But which classic musician does he liken to Picasso?
The first song I fell in love with
When I saw Night Boat to Cairo by Madness on Top of the Pops as an 11-year-old, something happened to me on a molecular level. There was something about the way they moved.
The first single I bought
I Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, from Swales Music in Haverfordwest, a 15-mile bus trip from the little fishing village in west Wales I lived in when I was eight.
The song I inexplicably know all the lyrics to
Someone played the soundtrack to Grease in the car, and amazingly I could sing pretty much every song – and not just the obvious hits, but the obscure ones like There Are Worse Things I Could Do.
The best song to play at a party
Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back) by Maceo and the Macks has an amazing groove and is three minutes of fun.
The song I can no longer listen to
Any version of Moon River because my dad sang it at this party we had for him the day before he died – the lyrics are all about how death is waiting for you round the bend.
The song I do at karaoke
A couple of Christmases ago, we got everyone round a karaoke machine, and I sang Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers with my wife. I do love a duet.
The best song to have sex to
Something short and snappy, like Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by the Smiths, which is only two minutes. Or maybe the national anthem.
The song that changed by life
My dad once drove me to the Alps to teach me to ski. We had a cassette, with Pavarotti’s Arias on one side, and Bob Dylan’s greatest hits on the other. I fell in love with It Ain’t Me Babe. Dylan is like Picasso. He makes a few lines and suddenly you can see the whole picture.
The song that makes me cry
I Believe in You by Talk Talk. There’s something magical about how the choir fades in as the chord changes. It’s made me cry so many times.
The song that gets me up in the morning
Suzanne by Nina Simone never fails to pep me up. I love how she took a Leonard Cohen song and gave it this upwards tilt.
The song I’d like played at my funeral
I’d like everyone to dance in the aisles as the coffin is brought down to One Step Beyond by Madness. Then I’d make everybody cry with Drop, Drop, Slow Tears by Orlando Gibbons.
David Gray’s album Nightjar is out now. He tours the UK and Ireland from 10 June to 26 July; starts London.