We are in Week three of Blaugust. I’ve been keeping up with all the bloggers taking part. Skimming though posts that appear in my RSS feed until I find one that catches my eye.

What I came across this morning was another by Sarah Honeychurch at NomadWarMachine. The post was Bernard Pivot Questionnaire. That led me to Roger Edward’s blog Contains Moderate Peril where Sarah got the questionaire.

Roger has completed a few other questionaires. The one I fancied having a go at was the Honest Playlist taken from the The Guardian’s series of the same name. Taking Roger’s lead I chose to answer only the questions I could think of a tune to go with aside from one I included anyway. There are more questions but they’re not all answered by everyone who appears in the Guardian either.

The first song I remember hearing
It was called “Nice One Cyril”. It was playing on the radio in our kitchen. I can picture the scene now. It was a sunny day. The year was 1973. My mum was singing along in a comical way. I was four years old. Seems odd to me now but I remember thinking it was not like the other songs that played and that it was good fun to listen to. The refrain was easy to remember, “Nice one Cyril, Nice one son, Nice one Cyril, Lets have another one”. It was a football song. I have never had any interest in football.

The first single I bought
“I Am the Beat” by The Look. It was released in 1980. Tony Blackburn played it on his radio show. The groove at the end of the record held the needle in place and the word, “beat” would play on an on until the arm was lifted. Tony mentioned that one time when he played it. I thought it was a good tune and the quirky bit at the end made it worth spending birthday money on.

The first song I fell in love with
“Mirror in the Bathroom” by the Beat. The first live concert I attended was when The Beat played at Canterbury University in the early 80s. I could not believe I was actually going to see The Beat play live. It seemed like something other people did that were a lot older than me. Same thought I had about university as it goes. I never went to uni but I was at the front of the crowd watching The Beat play live. It was amazing. I loved it. They played “Mirror in the Bathroom” which was a favourite of mine. At the end of the song the drummer - Everett Morton - threw one if the sticks he played the tune with into the crowd. I managed to get a hold of it as did a few others. There was a struggle but I did not let go. I went away from that gig a feeling like a different person. I still have the drumstick with Everett’s name on it.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
There is not a song that I know every lyric to but I do know every lyric to the chorus, bridge and verse three of “Wham Rap”. My older sister was a Wham fan and had their first album. I guess that is explicable but it’s the closest I have.

The best song to play at a party
Not sure about nowadays but in my early teens when I went to most parties, “Oops Up Side Your Head” by The Gap Band used to be the one to get everyone going. Everyone used to sit down on the floor behind one another and go through some set moves as the tune played. No idea where those moves came from. I never knew them but I did enjoy the music and atmosphere.

The song that changed my life
“The Crown” by Gary Byrd and the GB Experience. It was not the type of music me or the regular group of friends I hung out with listened to. The tune, the lyrics and simply the length of the record just blew me away. I was emboldened by it. I did not care who liked it or not. This record helped shaped my values and beliefs from the first listening of it. So pleased it was released at a time in my life when I needed the kind of message it delivered. It was a gift.

The song that gets me up in the morning
“Strength, Courage and Wisdom” by India.Arie is very affirming and a tune I play sometimes to get me off the starting blocks.

The song that makes me cry
When I was a young boy I was teased by my parents and older siblings whenever I cried or looked like I was about to. I decided back then I would hold my feelings in. That was a mistake and one I have lived with all my life. There’s a lot more to it but that would be a book never mind a blog post. If ever a song makes me cry I would be very happy about that.

The song I do at karaoke
I have never sung at a Karaoke and don’t imagine I ever will. Should I ever do so I think “Nine Pound Hammer” would be a good one to have a go at.

The song I want played at my funeral
This changes over time. There has been a few. A friend mentioned they wanted “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” to be played. That seemed pretty funny.