“At my funeral I want people to be dancing in the aisles to Madness”: David Gray’s Honest Playlist | David Gray

The first song I fell in love with
When I watched Night Boat to Nile by Madness on Top of the Pops when I was 11, something happened to me on a molecular level. There was something about the way they moved.

First song I bought
“I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats, from Swales Music in Haverfordwest, is a 15-mile bus journey from the small fishing village in west Wales where I lived when I was eight.

The song to which I inexplicably know all the words
Someone played the Grease soundtrack in the car, and surprisingly, I was able to sing almost every song — not just the obvious hits, but obscure ones like “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.”

Best song to play at a party
“Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)” by Maceo and Macks has an amazing groove and is a fun three minutes.

The song I can no longer listen to
Any version of Moon River because my dad sang it at this party we threw for him the day before he died – the lyrics are about how death is waiting for you around the corner.

The song I play at karaoke
A few Christmases ago, we gathered everyone around the karaoke machine, and I sang Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ “Islands in the Stream” with my wife. I love the duo.

Best song for sex
Something short and quick, like Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by the Smiths, which only takes two minutes. Or maybe the national anthem.

The song that changed life
My father once drove me to the Alps to teach me to ski. We had a cassette tape, with Pavarotti Arias on one side, and Bob Dylan greatest hits on the other. I fell in love with It Ain’t Me Babe. Dylan is like Picasso. He writes a few lines and suddenly you can see the whole picture.

The song that makes me cry
I Believe in You by Talk Talk. There’s something magical about how the chorus fades away as the chord changes. He made me cry many times.

The song that wakes me up in the morning
Nina Simone’s Susan never fails to motivate me. I love how you took a Leonard Cohen song and gave it this upward slant.

The song I would want played at my funeral
I would like everyone to dance in the aisles as the coffin is lowered into One Step Beyond by Madness. Then I’ll make everyone cry with Orlando Gibbons’ “Drop, Drop, Slow Tears.”

David Gray’s album Nightjar is out now. He tours the UK and Ireland From June 10 to July 26; London begins.