I'm very much a "Greatest Hits" type of Queen fan. That said, I do own A Night at the Opera and the Flash Gordon Sountrack, but it's the Greatest Hits Vols. I and II that get the most rotation in my house. I know some of the songs on News of the World, but not many. "Sheer Heart Attack" is a weird Queen song, as it's pretty much a punk song and must've surely have been influenced by the likes of then-new bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash et al.

That would be me as well. I don’t mind listening to a lot of their hits, but that’s plenty of Queen for me.

8. Engelbert Humperdinck Greatest Hits

I probably don't have to tell you this is one of my mother's favourites rather than my father's. I chose Engelbert as representative of several pop balladeers who were hugely popular in the 60s and for me contributed as much to the aura of that time as did the rock artists we usually associate with it. I absorbed a lot of this kind of music at an impressionable age and though I didn't buy many records of these artists once I started buying albums in the 70s, I've never lost my taste for it.

I could easily have picked Tom Jones or Al Martino - I remember as a small kid asking my mother what her favourite song was and she said Al Martino singing Blue Spanish Eyes, though possibly that might have just been the first one that came to her mind at that moment. But I went with Engelbert because for me, even more than Tom Jones, he was a huge part of the pop culture zeitgeist of the time, at least the impression I formed of it from the ages of around 5 to 10 or so. I remember debates - usually amongst my older female cousins and aunts, etc - over who was better, Engelbert or Tom Jones, which they took just as seriously as we boys did our Beatles vs Stones discussions.

My mother's favourite Engelbert song was Please Release Me but since this is about influences I'll choose a few that I remember especially liking myself then and still do today. I could pick almost any of his 60s hits as samples: whoever chose his material could do no wrong in the 60s - all his best-known songs are just dripping with gorgeous melodies perfectly suited to his beautiful voice and smooth but not saccharine delivery.

Ten Guitars: I think it's easy to see why a small kid would like this - catchy tune with simple words that don't really make sense (he's got a troop of ten guitar players following him all over the place?) but conjure up a vivid and appealing image:



This Is My Song - written by Charlie Chaplin! like so many of his songs I just love the melody to this one: for me it elevates what could otherwise be seen as trite lyrics to something profoundly real and heartfelt.


The Last Waltz: one of his biggest hits. I wavered between this and and my original choice, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize, but after listening to those two and a few others tonight I find it's Last Waltz that's having the biggest effect at the moment. Once again, the tune and Engelbert's voice take lines like "Two lonely people together" that should feel like sentimental tosh and make it into poetry - at least while you're listening.

#7 - Rock On with Buddy by Buddy Holly (1980)




My Dad was a big Buddy Holly fan, but when I was a little kid, I thought Holly and his music was the height of uncool. I mean, come on…the guy looked like a dork in those glasses!

All that changed when I saw The Buddy Holly Story starring Gary Busey as Buddy on TV one night, when I was around 15 or so, in 1987. The film really gripped me and, despite its many inaccuracies, showed me just what a visionary talent he was. By the next day I had done a complete about-face and was asking my father if I could borrow one of his Buddy Holly LPs. The one he picked out for me was this 1980 compilation.

Rock On with Buddy was a budget compilation put out on EMI's Music for Pleasure imprint and boasts a generous selection of 20 tracks. It eschews some of Buddy's bigger hits, like "Peggy Sue", "Words of Love", or "That'll Be the Day", and instead focuses on the rockier side of his recorded output for the most part (though there are still big hits like "Oh Boy!" and "Rave On" included too).

My introduction to Holly's music happened at roughly the same time as I began to learn how to play guitar and the fact that many of Holly's songs were quite easy to play cemented my love of his music. A bit later, once I had begun to write my own songs, the simplicity of Holly's material remained a big inspiration: you don't need to overcomplicate a song if you have a strong enough melody and a good enough groove.

I still have my Dad's copy of this album and, of course, these days I'm a big Buddy Holly fan myself, with around 19 or 20 Buddy Holly LPs or CDs in my collection. He is without doubt my favourite '50s rock 'n' roller.

A track from this compilation that I've always loved is Holly's breathless rockabilly run through of Sonny Curtis' "Rock Around with Ollie Vee". Give it a listen – it's a gas…

I know the name, mostly from him appearing on TV when I was a kid, but I'm not 100% sure I've ever actually heard a track by Engelbert Humperdinck.  I probably have...but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.  

This one should be no surprise to anyone that knows me. I'm not sure if I bought this with my own money in 1964 or if it was a gift but whichever, it was the first record I could claim as my own. Besides The Beatles changing the way I thought of music in 1964, they evolved and got more wonderfully complex through the years just as I did, going through my puberty and late teen age phase. My hair styles and clothing choices in the late 60's-early 70s I could blame on The Beatles as well as my developing music taste
I had a lot of company with those also influenced by the lads