World, play it again

"If music be the food of love, play on" - Duke Orsino to his court in regards the fair Olivia at the very beginning of Twelfth Night. I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, it must be said, but that is without a doubt one of my favourite lines of literature. I envision including it in my wedding, maybe as a banner across the head table during the sit down meal.

In the moment, the Duke would like the music to continue if it will encourage love between him and the object of his affections, Olivia. And I really appreciate that feeling. Music is absolutely a driver and a soundtrack to some of the most significant moments in our lives.

I truly believe that one of the best ways to get to know someone is ask them about their favourite music, or if you want to tap in to how they're feeling at that time, see what they're listening to. If anyone recommends music to me, I take it very seriously.

Being fully present in a moment can be a struggle, but I find music really takes me there. Some of the most powerful moments I've ever experienced have been during the musical times at church or at a gig, hundreds of people, together, connecting with the same song in a myriad of individual ways. I love it.

Drawing on this, as we've all moved to working from home, my team at work have started sharing our Desert Island Discs every Friday afternoon as inspired by the BBC Radio 4 show. It's been incredible listening to the soundtracks of my colleagues' lives. I feel we've all go to know each other on another level, in a really wonderful way.

We allowed ourselves 3 albums, 1 song, 1 book and 1 luxury item. These are mine:

The Joshua Tree - U2

I grew up listening to this thanks to my mum’s Bono obsession. Seriously, our downstairs toilet is effectively a shrine to that man. As someone not around when it came out, I’d love to have heard it for the first time as now it sounds like a greatest hits album. The thought of having those initial chords of 'Where the Streets Have no Name' play out for the first time gives me goose bumps. Also, for me, this is one of the last albums U2 ‘took it to church’ which means a lot to me. Later albums definitely had their moments, particularly 'All That you Can't Leave Behind' and 'How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb' had songs that did this, but as a whole album, it's got to be 'The Joshua Tree'.

Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses - Slipknot

The range of musical styles on this album is greatly impressive. Corey doesn't just scream down a microphone for an hour as those not in the know may accuse... There’s the angry upbeat madness for when I’m frustrated at being on an island, but then there are really powerful quiet moments as well. I particularly tapped into how I'd feel on a desert island when choosing this one. You will have a range of feelings in such a situation I'm sure, and this album really has a song for each of them. The spirit of the music helps you not stay too low during the deeper moments, I mean what a consideration 'the only thing I ever really loved was hate' is! But, unlike Disintegration by The Cure, which was a contender, Slipknot keep you going a bit more energetically. Got to think of your mental health!

Revival - Eminem

I absolutely love Eminem. I fully appreciate that he has controversial and he's made some comments I don't agree with, but his attitude of resilience and digging in to those thoughts we keep most private really appeals to me. The amount of collaborations on this album means there’s something for every mood, from duets with P!nk and Beyonce to samples of ‘I love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Zombies’. Also, Eminem’s story-telling abilities will having me feeling like I have more than one book on the island.

Barney Ruggles

My luxury item is my first Christmas present who’s been there through absolutely everything since. I have cuddled, cried and slobbered on this toy bear for longer than I can remember. He does with me pretty much everywhere, so it's only right he'd be on the desert island with me! (I was going to pick a Swiss Army Knife for practical reasons, but according to my team, that’s not luxury and I can make tools on the island) .

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

It was a difficult choice between this and Wuthering Heights, but this is slightly longer and the story involves southern American accents which are more fun to imitate when reading to myself. Also, there’s a lot of faith and music in this book which means a lot to me. The film of this book is actually a really great adaption, which doesn't always happen. A scene that stands out for me in both is June (Alicia Keys) is playing during church and you see the Black Madonna statue. The story behind this, is that it was washed up and then used as a sign of hope by slaves. Really powerful.

The Nitty Gritty - Gladys Knight and the Pips

'Come on and let the good times roll , let the music sink down in to your soul'

Simply, it’s funky, feel good, empowering, dance-inducing AWESOMENESS. I try to listen to this before I do something that makes me nervous, like presenting in front of people, works like a charm every time.

And that's it!

It's been great to get to know my colleagues a bit better and be introduced to new music.

Times will change again, and they should, but I'm grateful for the consistency of music.