"The next one is Temple of Doom. That’s the one that sticks with me most. I was born in ’81, so I know that was [when] the first Indiana Jones was. But I remember Temple of Doom most, and so I just have to pick that. I mean, it’s for pretty much the exact same reasons as Star Wars. It’s my childhood. Indiana Jones is the character that I just wished that I was, you know what I mean? [The one] I wanted to be as a little kid. And they’re also just really, really well made, fantastic movies. You know, all the Indiana Jones — well the first three anyways. I also love that time period. I love that sort of 1930s and 1940s, I love that period — the thought of it. And I like war movies and all that kind of stuff as well."

"A gloriously ludicrous slice of 1980s cinematic fromage. Between the infectious Queen soundtrack, eye-popping Technicolor special effects, super hot Italian space princess, outrageous production and costume design, a deranged Max von Sydow spitting eminently quotable lines, and a leading man whose principle qualification was being a Playgirl centerfold, this movie had it all. I must’ve watched it fifty times when I was a kid. It was on a near-constant loop in our living room Betamax. One of the great many things I love about being a father is sharing my beloved childhood experiences with my kids. I was so giddily excited to watch this movie with my children when they were old enough. I couldn’t wait. They turned it off halfway through. I spent the next twenty minutes trying to convince them how awesome it was. They weren’t having it. My kids have terrible taste."

"I watched it for the first time when I was probably 8 or 9, and it was the first movie that I remember consciously crying and having an emotional response to. I just remember my older brother, who really took care of us because my mom worked a lot, was so worried about me, he was like, What’s going on? Are you okay? I remember him ushering me into my room to calm down. It was interesting because I was so grateful he was nurturing me, but I wasn’t ready to stop watching the film. It’s a staple. I watch that movie at least once a month. It’s nostalgic. Now I think the acting is not that great, so I don’t think it could make me cry the way it did as a kid, but it’s so nostalgic and reminds me of my childhood."

"I'm getting the hardcore folk records out of the way first! This is another family group of five brothers and a sister from Billingham who were a big part of my childhood. I've seen them live many times. Their harmonies are properly spine-tingling, and it's so intuitive, the way they sing together. They sing lots of the songs of Graeme Miles, who lived and worked in Teeside, a man who worked in different industries to write songs informed by people's experiences. Another song of his called ‘Sea Coal', about people collecting coal washed up on the shore and then selling it cheaply, is one we do. God, they're such evocative songs. I've also sung some of his songs recently with Paul Smith from Maximo Park, who's from Billingham too – we've basically made an album together. That's to come! He's a real folk-lover. They're everywhere, you know.
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