THE ROCKING NATURALIST

What music are you currently grooving to? The KVB’s Of Desire, mainly. I’m a massive Mary Chain fan, and they’ve got that underlying unsettledness, but with electronics instead of crushing feedback. Also, The Vaccines, Paramore, Holly Beth Vincent’s Miles Away, some Phil Spector things, and The Lexicon Of Love by ABC. I’d forgotten what a lovely blend of techno and orchestration it was.

What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album? With a gun to my head, the Mary Chain’s Psychocandy. I wore the grooves flat, and I can still relate – basically it’s what goes on in my head, which is a sort of frustration, degrees of anger and angst, and a determination to move forward in two minutes 13 seconds.

What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?

I remember having Telegram Sam and

Jeepster by T.Rex, from Woolworths in Portswood, a suburb of Southampton.

Which musician have you ever wanted to be? To have been Joe Strummer in some squatty little dive in 1977 – that’s it, really.

What do you sing in the shower? Between The Wars by Billy Bragg. I’m not gifted with my voice. I like his lyrics and the sentiments, and I love a proletarian rant in the shower.

What is your favourite Saturday night record? I have big tunes – I always end up with Pixies’ Debaser and Apollo 440’s version of Don’t Fear The Reaper, [At] The Edge by Stiff Little Fingers, Homicide by 999… also Red by Dogs, a punk band from the turn of the noughties. Because my partner leaves the room when it gets to The Cramps or the Dead Kennedys I also have what I call my soppy playlist – Saint Etienne, The Cure, This Mortal Coil.

And your Sunday morning record?

I don’t go mellow. I’d be playing the same kind of thing, I don’t have a comedown. I quite like to get up to a row.