"I was really into musical theatre. I was the dorky kid who listened to Evita on my walkman as I walked down the street smoking, thinking I was so cool. A couple of my favourite records from that era really speak to that. This is a super theatrical record. The songs are stories and portraits of characters. The music doesn't suggest it, but you can totally see that shit onstage. I just loved it. I loved the immediacy of Marc Almond's vocals. Again, just a totally believable singer, not phoning it in."

"I think that Elizabeth Fraser is such an amazing singer. Even though she’s not singing words, there’s so much emotion in her voice. The melodies are unbelievably strong, and when you combine that with Elizabeth's voice it conveys things that mere words can’t. “I also love the way that the instrumentation is almost the same for every song. With some artists, that might not work, but the Cocteau Twins manage to take you into their own sonic world. They’re totally captivating. This is one of my favorite records ever."

"Genius. Still as fresh. Tubby still has this purity, because it's all about the sound. He wasn't a singer. It was the sonic invention, because he was an electrician, wasn't he? He made things. He made things that 'badang' and 'zwoof'. It's always interesting if you play it to people who are not connoisseurs or obsessed with music, they're still completely freaked out when they discover this music that was made a long, long time ago. I don't think he wanted or needed to be at the front, he was very happy."

"Frank Zappa's glorious Straight label gave us Captain Beefheart, Alice Cooper, the GTO's and this absurdly eclectic 1969 album by sardonic folk-blues-comedy-rock-cabaret belter Judy Henske and hubby Jerry Yester of the New Christy Minstrels and the Modern Folk Quartet. No two tracks sound like the same band (or even singer), thanks to Henske's radical versatility and Yester playing ten different instruments; but unlike the Turtles' equally perversely wide-ranging The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands, no track sounds much like anyone else either. "

"A superb documentary about the once little-known American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, and his huge popularity in South Africa, which starts with a rumour about him killing himself by setting fire to himself on stage. His real story then reveals itself to be very different. This film delves into mythology, how it develops, and the way we elevate musicians as beacons in culture. It’s also a film about an incredibly underrated guy, and how difficult it was to find lost stars before the internet took off. It couldn’t happen now."