‘Freak Scene made me want to be in a band’: Gaz Coombes’s honest playlist

The first song I remember hearing
I recall being sat on the floor playing with my Fisher-Price car park, and my mum putting on Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite! from Sgt Pepper by the Beatles. It’s very fairground and circusy.

The song I can no longer listen to
My eldest daughter was obsessed with One Direction, so we’d listen to Best Song Ever over and over. I have a bit of a soft spot for 1-D, but I could happily never hear that song again.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
I was fascinated with The Needle and the Damage Done by Neil Young when I was 11 or 12, even though I didn’t understand the heavy connotations behind the lyrics. It has quite a light, sweet, fluffy, whistley little melody.

The first single I bought
Summer 1985, nine years old, I jumped on my Grifter and bombed it to Solo supermarket in Wheatley in Oxfordshire, where they had this cool little music section in the corner with cassettes and vinyl, and bought Into the Groove by Madonna.

The best song to have sex to
You think there’s time to put music on? Maybe Young Americans by Bowie because it’s such a sexy song.

The song that I do at karaoke
I’ve only done karaoke in some far-off land: like the time I did Come Together by the Beatles with Sebastian Bach from Skid Row when we were playing this mad festival in Beijing. We did a verse each and it was glorious.

The best song to play at a party
Teardrops by Womack & Womack is a solid party favourite. During Covid, my wife and I got fed up with having a drink, so we’d make a cup of tea and watch Top of the Pops reruns on BBC Four. This came on and it’s so cool.

The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hate
Everyone thinks Dancing in the Street by Mick Jagger and David Bowie is a bit of a joke, but there’s something about the abandonment of it … I don’t know where their heads are at, but they’re having a great time.

The song I wish I had written
I reckon the perfect song is the Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye version of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. The verses, chorus and middle eight are just glorious. The key change is one of my favourite moments in music.

The song that changed my life
Freak Scene by Dinosaur Jr was one of the first songs we learned to play in my first band, the Stone Heads. It was the song that made me want to be in a band, plus it’s pretty simple.

The song I want played at my funeral
(Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon would make things a bit less intense. Lennon’s got that beautiful light touch. I’ll be starting over, so can everyone else.

Gaz Coombes’s new album, Turn the Car Around, is out now. He is on tour to 26 May.