The previous Liberal Democrat chief and present MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron on his music obsessions…

What was the primary track you keep in mind loving?

The primary single I purchased for myself with my very own pocket cash was Dancing Queen by ABBA once I was six. However there’s an entire bunch of different stuff that I favored on the time. Within the room I’m in now, I’ve acquired numerous my dad’s previous data. He labored within the building business but in addition DJ-ed at nightclubs. My mum would sit at residence and hearken to the radio and provides him recommendation on what new stuff to play. In case your dad and mom are fairly cool and into music and also you’re 4, 5, six, you are inclined to imbibe what they have been listening to, so there was numerous Beatles and Motown.

Did you’ve any pop star posters in your bed room wall as a child?

As a young person, sure. I had a large image of Morrissey and Johnny Marr and had an image of the entrance cowl of the only Chocolate Lady by Deacon Blue. It was a black and white photograph of mucky youngsters in a Glasgow yard and I simply thought there was one thing about it that I actually favored. I additionally had a Frank Sidebottom poster and a Prefab Sprout one.

You have been in a band as a young person, weren’t you…

We had varied names over time – The Voyeurs, which was fairly dodgy, and Fred The Lady. All I can say is, the one evaluate we ever had, which was within the sixth type journal, was that we have been a fourth-rate New Order, which in all probability oversells how good we have been.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout. I nonetheless have the unique copy that my mom purchased me for Christmas 1985. I additionally love London Calling by The Conflict, that’s super. And a current favorite of mine is Since I Left You by The Avalanches – it’s only a factor of magnificence, it strikes like a symphony by completely different levels. Additionally I’d in all probability say Treasure by Cocteau Twins and Is This It by The Strokes which is a outstanding quick, sharp return to fundamentals.

In the event you had to decide on one musical artist as your Mastermind topic, who wouldn’t it be?

I did do Celeb Mastermind and instructed Prefab Sprout, however sadly their reply was there wasn’t sufficient materials to do their analysis on, so I ended up doing Blackburn Rovers.

What’s the perfect gig you’ve ever been to?

My first was Frank Sidebottom and the Oh Blimey Massive Band in about 1985. There have been lots of people there who simply went to the working males’s membership as a daily factor and he was simply this irritant in a nook, however three quarters of the individuals there have been absolute devotees like me. It was completely great. If you realize something about Frank Sidebottom folklore, he had an entire vary of puppets – Little Frank being the principle one – however there are others in addition to Little Buzz Aldrin, the area puppet. Then there was Little Denise who was Little Frank’s love curiosity. At one level, Little Denise’s head went lacking, and reasonably than changing it, he simply made a factor about Little Denise having no head as a factor to mock Little Frank with. Anyway, that was the gig the place her head went lacking. So for the tiny quantity of people that care about these issues, that was a monumental gig.

Do you hearken to Spotify or are you a vinyl hound?

The sincere reply is that previously few years I’ve gotten a bit lazy and I hearken to iTunes. There’s an entire bunch of teams thatI actually like, bands like Alvvays, The Orielles and others I’ve acquired into not too long ago – and my deep, darkish confession is that I really don’t personal any of their stuff in any respect, it’s all on my cellphone!