The first single I bought
(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais by the Clash, from a record shop in the Hitchin arcade.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
I enjoyed rote-learning at school, so I learn lyrics off by heart. I particularly like Ella Fitzgerald’s version of But Not for Me by George and Ira Gershwin: “I never want to hear from any cheerful Pollyannas / Who tell you fate supplies a mate / It’s all bananas.”
The best song to play at a party
Prisencolinensinainciusol by Adriano Celentano is an absolute banger and gloriously daft. Celentano sings in mock English. The video features some excellent dancing.
The song I can no longer listen to
I used to love them for their politics and integrity, but I can no longer listen to the punk bands I loved as a teenager: X-Ray Spex, Sham 69, Stiff Little Fingers, Chelsea, Angelic Upstarts and Crisis.
The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate
When I talk about my love of dance music, I quickly qualify it by mentioning someone credible like Bootsy Collins or Marlena Shaw. But what I really love is the cheesy disco, like Feel So Real by Steve Arrington.
The song I stream the most
Travelling by train from one gig to the next, I’ll listen on my headphones to Lone Star State of Mind by Nanci Griffith, Outkast’s Morris Brown, Clock Factory by Sabres of Paradise and Stone by Prince Alla to help the miles disappear.
The song I do at karaoke
I’m not one for karaoke, but I love singing around the flat. When my son Billy was four, he would reply matter-of-factly to the Blue Nile’s Tinseltown in the Rain. “Do I love you?” “Yes.” “Will we always be happy-go-lucky?” “Yes.”
The song that makes me cry
Judee Sill’s version of 500 Miles: “Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name / Lord I can’t go back home this a-way.”
The song that gets me up in the morning
Listening to music is the last thing I want to do before the children wake up. That golden silence from 5-7am is when I get to read or write. Once they’re up, the playlist includes Archie, Marry Me by Alvvays, which is joyful and sunny.
The song I want played at my funeral
Gallipoli (Solo Piano Version) by Astrid Williamson.
The song that changed my life
After I moved to London in my early 20s, I complained to my girlfriend at the time that I was spending all my evenings on my own, even though we were going out. I quoted I Know It’s Over by the Smiths: “And if you’re so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?” She chucked me right there and then. So I guess that song changed my life – or at least cleared things up.
Rob Newman: Where the Wild Things Were tours to 1 February; tour starts Norwich. His new novel, Intelligence, is out in early 2026.
