The first song I remember hearing
I’m from six generations of classical musicians, so my dad often played Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from the ballet Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian. For pop, it was House of the Rising Sun by the Animals. My home was a right old mix!
The first single I bought
When I was 12, I taught piano to other children and some adults – I had seven pupils. My treat was to buy a top from TopShop or a record from HMV in Great Yarmouth, where I bought Love Shack by the B-52’s.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
I used to be the church organist, so there’s not a hymn in the world I don’t know. I can sing every word of Suo Gân, the Welsh hymn from the film Empire of the Sun. But I’m absolutely terrible with pop lyrics. The fact that I was in a pop band is hilarious.
The song I do at karaoke
If you go near anything well known, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Don’t touch Whitney Houston, and only do Beyoncé in a gang of girls! But everyone can sing Rock the Casbah by the Clash in that pseudo, chanty way.
The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hate
I love Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. But whenever you play it, everyone feels like you’re just bringing the vibe down.
The best song to play at a party
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyoncé gets everybody up. Or Bossa Nova Baby by Elvis Presley, one of the sexiest songs ever written.
The song I can no longer listen to
I was working with the Disasters Emergency Committee and Save the Children after the typhoon in the Philippines in 2013. They gathered these children who had lost their families and parents, and one started to sing Roar by Katy Perry as an act of defiance. Whenever I hear it now, it breaks my heart.
The song that changed my life
Growing up in Norfolk, I loved The Loco-Motion by Kylie Minogue. But when I heard The Planets by Gustav Holst, I realised there was another world, and would steal CDs off the front of Reader’s Digest.
The song that gets me up in the morning
When I’m getting ready doing my makeup, my son and I like to dance around the bedroom to Ordinary World by Duran Duran. When it drops, it drops perfectly.
The song I want played at my funeral
If Mozart’s Requiem is good enough for Mozart, it’s good enough for me!
Myleene Klass is working with kids’ financial education app GoHenry, to help kids be smart with money. See gohenry.com/uk
