The first song I remember hearing
Symphony No 101 in D major – also known as The Clock – by Joseph Haydn. My dad used to make elderberry wine or beer; any booze really. I’d be in my bedroom as the fumes and Haydn drifted up from the kitchen.
The first single I bought
Baby I Don’t Care by Transvision Vamp. I was in love with Wendy James. Still am.
The song that is my karaoke go-to
I get a little self-conscious singing English songs, so I prefer to crank out Ska by Leningrad, this fantastic Russian band, although they’re not in all the karaoke menus.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
Lyrics go in one ear and out the other, so I don’t actually know the lyrics to any songs. I once lived in Kyiv with a record player and a copy of A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles on vinyl. I listened to it 400 times but still couldn’t tell you the words.
The song I streamed last
I’m currently listening to Green by Hiroshi Yoshimura. I got myself into a bubble in lockdown, and we listened to him a lot during that. It’s pretty ambient, so nice to have on while I write.
The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate
I don’t keep it a secret, but I do like Rotterdam by the Beautiful South, which for some reason doesn’t impress my friends from home. They also didn’t love my penchant for Buddy Holly or, amazingly, Glenn Miller.
The song I wish I had written
There’s something about When I Grow Up from Matilda the Musical that really gets me. To be fair, there are a few humdingers in that show.
The song I can’t help singing
The Succession theme tune is iconic stuff, heralding the best drama on TV. I brush my teeth humming it.
The song I want played for my funeral
O Julissi by Ishtar, Belgium’s 2008 offering for the Eurovision song contest. How it didn’t get past the semi-finals I will never know. I’ve used it as walk-on music when I was performing, so I think it could work just as well as I walk off, as it were …
Tim Key is on tour in the UK to 11 June.
