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‘At my funeral I want people dancing in the aisles to Madness’: David Gray’s honest playlist
EntertainmentMusicMusic News•June 7, 2026 at 9:00 AMNational

‘At my funeral I want people dancing in the aisles to Madness’: David Gray’s honest playlist

By As told to Rich Pelley•The Guardian Music

The singer knows all the words to Grease and channels Kenny Rogers at karaoke. But which classic musician does he liken to Picasso?The first song I fell in love withWhen I saw Night Boat to Cairo by Madness on Top of the Pops as an 11-year-old, something happened to me on a molecular level. There was something about the way they moved.The first single I boughtI Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, from Swales Music in Haverfordwest, a 15-mile bus trip from the little fishing village in west Wales I lived in when I was eight. Continue reading...

The singer knows all the words to Grease and channels Kenny Rogers at karaoke. But which classic musician does he liken to Picasso?

The first song I fell in love with
When I saw Night Boat to Cairo by Madness on Top of the Pops as an 11-year-old, something happened to me on a molecular level. There was something about the way they moved.

The first single I bought
I Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, from Swales Music in Haverfordwest, a 15-mile bus trip from the little fishing village in west Wales I lived in when I was eight.

Continue reading...