Music That Changed My Life

I saw Gang of Four play three times in 24 hours in the Netherlands, back in the day. It was impressive. Later, I followed them for five days, attending gigs from the south to the north of the UK, to write a feature for Vinyl magazine. I loved—and still love—their disruptive, funky, danceable guitars. Punk-funk the way I like it, from the same Leeds art school scene that the Mekons came from.

>>> Play some Gang Of Four

The Specials took their roots and added their own twist to it, just like the Mekons did, and the Pogues were no different. They blended folk music with punk energy. The melodies were fantastic, the lyrics hit you hard—drink and dance.

And you know what? When my children were young, I used to sing them to sleep with songs by Hank Williams, the Mekons, and the Pogues. “Dirty Old Town” was a daily lullaby.

A special memory: on the day we buried my father, I chose not to miss the Pogues’ concert at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. Music can be a source of comfort. It’s there to help us forget and remember. My father loved music—he would have understood. And, of course, the Pogues made me cry.

>>> Play the Pogues

The Specials were danceable, political, multicultural, and influenced youth fashion while scoring number-one hits. There aren’t many other bands in pop history that can claim the same. They represented a musical and subcultural revolution. Incredible.

One of the first times I saw them was at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, where Two Tone peers The Beat opened for them. It was an era when great support acts were the norm—thinking of The Passions opening for The Cure and Gang of Four supporting the Buzzcocks.

When I first heard The Specials’ debut album, I couldn’t stop playing it. A mix of party and politics. To be honest, I didn’t initially realize many of the tracks were energetic covers of old ska classics, but The Specials brought their own power to them. Thanks to them, I dove deeper into the history of ska, discovering legends like The Skatalites, The Maytals, The Ethiopians, and more—bands I still play regularly.

And still love the Specials.

>>> Play The Specials

One of my all-time heroes is definitely Bill Drummond of the KLF. I love the music, the concepts, and the art! Here are a few highlights:

• The KLF sampled everything they could get away with. Sampling The Beatles was a step too far, but listen closely to their Number 1 hit “Doctorin’ the Tardis” (under the Timelords moniker) and see which originals you recognize.
• After that hit, they released the book How To Have A Number One The Easy Way, and I followed their recipe for Dutch radio—almost succeeded! Drummond even said we produced “a European hit in the making.”
• Without knowing it, Eton Crop did something similar to Drummond. He recorded singles pretending to be a Finnish punk band and took his kids to Finland just so he could send the record to the UK press with Finnish postal stamps. As Eton Crop, we pretended to be a Russian punk band and ended up with great reviews in NME and MM!
• I also love his crazy art ideas, like driving for 25 hours on the M25 as a statement, or creating art projects where the audience formed a choir. I was even part of the KLF choir once!

There’s so much to love about the KLF—like Justified & Ancient with Tammy Wynette, for example.

>>> Play yourself some KLF

New Order is my idea of perfect pop. Melancholic, with a 'different kind of tune' vocalist, a prominent bass in most tracks, and a brilliant crossover between pop and the electronic world of house. I tend to play music while showering, and 95% of the time, Power, Corruption & Lies is the album I’m listening to. It’s by far the most played record in my house.

>>> Listen to Power, Corruption & Lies