‘I run screaming and crying from karaoke’: Skin’s honest playlist
The first song I remember hearing I was brought up in a nightclub in Brixton that was owned by my grandfather. Aged five or six, I remember sitting at the top of the steps, looking down and everybody doing these strange, jerky ska, swing moves to Al Capone by Prince Buster.
The first single I boughtA 10-inch from the early 1950s by Nina Simone that had I Loves You, Porgy, Love Me or Leave Me, Little Girl Blue and My Baby Just Cares for Me. I’ve still got it. My mum – who worked as a night nurse – had a front room that was full of lace and nice furniture, but I wasn’t allowed in. I only got to sneak in and use the record player when she forgot to lock it.
The song I do at karaokeI run away, screaming and crying, from karaoke. The only time I did it, I sang Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton [and Kenny Rogers].
The song I inexplicably know every lyric toBaby Shark by Pinkfong, because I have a three-month-old daughter. I’ve no idea how it has sunk into my brain.
The best song to play at a party Born Slippy (Nuxx) by Underworld makes people happy in practically any situation. People like a bit of aggression.
The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hateI really liked Firework by
Katy Perry, but then when she sang it at Joe Biden’s inauguration, that was the cringiest moment in presidential history. The song I can no longer listen to It’s amazing that Amy Winehouse wrote Rehab when she was on such a downward spiral. It makes me sad because if only she had gone to rehab again, she might still be here now.
The song I wish I’d writtenAs a Jamaican, Redemption Song by Bob Marley. Black people do have to sometimes free ourselves from the way we are perceived. This is one of the great political songs of our time.
The best song to have sex toHell to the Liars by London Grammar. That album came out at the beginning of a relationship, so it makes me feel happy and brilliant.
The song I want played at my funeralIf I die young, then I don’t want any music because I want everybody to be miserable. But if I die when I’m old, then I want people to be happy, so I’ll have Dancing Queen by Abba.