“They’re pop tunes in a Broadway sense, but they’re totally amazing. The songwriter is Frank Loesser, an incredible talent.

“I went to the High School Of Performing Arts in New York City, and I was always trying to date the girls who were in drama class. One day, this girl said that she had to go to her dance lesson after school, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll go with you.’ One of the students at the dance studio was Robert Morse, who was in the original film. He was the first movie star I ever saw in real life. That might have played a role in me listening to the album.

“There’s a song on the soundtrack called I Believe In Me that is just so fucking beautiful. It’s kind of a funny tune, and there’s twists and turns in the arrangement that are very surprising. Suddenly, it goes from happy-go-lucky to sad in the matter of a couple of seconds. I remember saying, ‘Wow, that’s brilliant songwriting!’ It really made an impression on me.

“Later on, I found out that the original recording was done at a venue that became The Ritz in New York, where I played a few times. They did orchestral scores there before it became a nightclub. In very weird ways, I have a bit of a connection to this soundtrack.”