What song reminds you most of your childhood?
I first got into listening to music through my dad's vinyl collection. He never told me to listen to anything in particular, he just let me go and explore. The two tracks that I really remember are “Day Tripper” by The Beatles, and there was a Ray Charles song, “Georgia on My Mind.” They are the two records that I remember from being up in the attic listening to my dad’s vinyl records as a child.
What was the first record you remember buying?It's definitely not going to be as credible as the two of them! Actually, it might not have been that bad - the first one I remember buying was an Offspring single, “The Kids Aren’t Alright.” I bought my CDs at a shop in Waterford called Tower Records. They had a lot of stuff, but anything that was slightly off the mainstream, you had to order it in and wait. Back in the day, man, I remember ordering a Lethal Bizzle album and they were like, “yeah, that'll be four weeks.” I was like, “four weeks?! It's only coming from bloody London, it’s not like it’s being sent from America or something.” But they were good days. That anticipation always made you appreciate albums a lot more. |
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What song reminds you of home?
The first thing that comes to mind is “The Old Triangle,” an old Irish traditional song. Beautiful, beautiful song. The other one would be “Jambalaya” by Hank Williams because my dad used to sing it a lot when I was growing up. He was always playing in bands, and is still doing it today. He's always complaining that my guitar playing isn’t as good any more - I don't play enough, because when I started touring with a band, I was like, “nah, I'm the front man,” and I very much so slacked on my live guitar playing and I kept it only to records. My dad is always like “you can't handle playing with me.” When I go home, I get some hard lessons!
What song reminds you of traveling to a specific place?
I would say “Gabriel” by Roy Davis Jr. because I know that’s a song that a lot of people, not just me, have heard on so many holidays. Good times, bad times, five o'clock in the morning when you've got back from the club, waking up the next day with a hangover - it's one of those rare tunes that fits every occasion.
What song do you wish you had written?
Lord, off the top of my head - “What's Going On” by Marvin Gaye is a really obvious one, but I listened to it again the other day and it is one of those songs that sadly will forever be relevant, and will always feel timeless. “Across 110th Street” by Bobby Womack as well, just because that intro with him kind of swooning was one of my introductions to soul singing, and I always loved Bobby Womack's voice on that record.
What song would you want played at your funeral?
What's funny about that question is that in the video for a song on the new album, “If I Can Only Love You Again,” there's a scene of me in a coffin, and shooting it was quite an eerie experience. My band were stood around me, there's like six of us in this field, and I'm sat in a coffin, submerged in water with just my head poking out, it's lashing rain and everyone's got black umbrellas. I'm looking out from my own coffin like, “am I asking for trouble by doing stuff like this?” Also, I thought “fucking hell, there better be more than five people turning out to my actual funeral.” But anyway, for a song to play at my funeral, it's got to be a warrior tune, man. Burning Spear, “Marcus Garvey” or something like that. It’s got to be a powerful feeling tune, rather than a sombre one. |
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What’s the best song to play at a house party?
I'm going to have to go with a UK garage tune again for this. I would say the Wookie remix of “Little Man” by Sia is a good shout.
You’re abducted by aliens, and when you wake up on the spaceship, they pass you the aux. What is the song you’re playing to convince them not to destroy Earth?
Well, there's a load of tunes I wouldn't be playing, Jesus Christ! As soon as they turn up the radio, they'd be like “yeah, get rid.” Okay, let's see... this one could go either way actually - it could be dangerous, but it softens my soul when I hear it. “Don't Think Twice, It’s Alright,” by Bob Dylan. I'm going to risk it. They could get sentimental and decide to help cure the ills of Earth, or they could go “fucking hell, his voice is awful!”