MUSIC MY SIX BEST ALBUMS

US singer-songwriter Richard, 56, is best known for Top Ten hits such as Right HereWaiting and Playing With Fire. His new album Limitless is out now.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE:

I Am (Arc)

A perfect album, full of joy. It made a huge impact on me as a singer and a performer and cemented my worship of MauriceWhite.What a vocalist.

PETER GABRIEL: So (Charisma) A pivotal album in my life. I was 22 and I stood in line before the record store opened to get the CD. By the end of the first track, Red Rain, I was weeping. Magnificent.

PAUL SIMON: Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia)

The album that made me want to be a songwriter. My father played me this when I was 12.Wonderful songs.

EAGLES: The Long Run

(Asylum)

I love every song on this. I always felt my first single Don’t Mean Nothin’, which Joe Walsh played slide guitar on, could have belonged on this album.

TOVE LO: Queen Of The Clouds

(Island)

She’s incredible. She’s Swedish and she doesn’t sound like anyone else. She’s young and rare, a stylist, and technically a great singer.

VERTICAL HORIZON: Everything You Want (RCA)

They’re at the grungier end of modern rock but not as grungy as Nirvana, more melodic, less angry, and I like Matt Scannell’s voice. It makes you euphoric.