Tony Wright: the 10 records that changed my life

Back to the beginning...

Tony Wright is feeling nostalgic, handily enough.

As we catch up with him to talk through the records that have shaped his life, and his music, he's building up to the release of his second solo album, Walnut Dash in early September.

“This album is kinda linked to the music I love," he explains, "likening the people I love to the things I love about music.

"I pay homage to the songs that I grew up with and the folk that sang them and even ones I didn't sing along to. It's about the rhythms, melodies, harmonies and words that are important. Hopefully the storylines that run through speak for themselves...”

Formative

What better time, then, to delve into the Terrorvision and Laika Dog frontman's formative musical experiences? The result, as you'll see, is a palate-cleansingly unpretentious top 10 of pop and rock classics. So, Tony, what are the records that have - drum roll - changed your life?

"Some of them might actually be songs that I was listening to when my life changed, but it's a question that really gets me thinking and takes me back through time and to visit places and people that were there and then.

"So I'll start at the beginning and a time I was completely unaware I would ever be asked about these songs..."

Walnut Dash, Tony Wright's new album, is out on September 9.

1. Your Song - Elton John (1970)

"Sitting in the car with my mum, driving to Morecambe.

"We had one speaker in the middle of the dash board by the gear stick, and no seat belts. I will only have been learning to talk at the time and probably didn't know what I was singing but I sang my head off to Your Song by Elton John.

"I still love it to this day, I think I understand the words more now but don't care as the melody was probably what got me. It's a little bit funny the feeling inside when I hear it - but only the original version by Elton."

2. Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters (1973)

"Another of the songs we sang on that journey - a journey I have done all my life and could do with my eyes closed - is Yesterday Once More by The Carpenters.

"I think Karen Carpenter's voice made the travelling go a lot quicker and soothed me.

"I looked up the year and it was 1973. I was 5 years old and when I hear the song I still stop and listen and go back to a time when my feet only went to the edge of the seat and I loved singing it.

"That cassette got totally worn out."

3. Ghost in the Machine - The Police (1981)

"Those first two songs lasted me for years but the next defining moment for me tunes-wise would be when I was around 12. I got a record player for Christmas, and two records.

"One I still love and the other I loved then as I only had two records. Those records were Ghost in the Machine by The Police and ELO's Discovery..."

4. Discovery - ELO (1979)

"I think The Police have done better stuff now I've heard more, but the ELO album was rocking then and still is now. It had actually been out a couple of years by the time I got hold of it but it outlasted the Police album for good reason.

"It made me start listening out for more ELO, to the point where I thought they had written Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as the Beatles had completely passed me by at the point.

"ELO are still way ahead of the pack including today's bands and singers."

5. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (1971)

"My sister went to college when I was 14 and left behind her record collection. She got a tape player when she left and spent a week or so recording all her vinyl before she set off.

"In that collection were probably the most important records in my life. It included Led Zeppelin II and of course, from Led Zep IV, Stairway to Heaven.

"This is the song that made me want to play guitar and really made me want to grow my hair and be in a band. It sends a shiver down my spine to this day."

6. Heartbreaker - Free (1973)

"Then there was Heartbreaker by Free. It had the song Wishing Well on there. This made me want to sing. Especially the line 'and someday the sun will shine through'.

"This was the song I would audition for various bands that I would join as I grew up. Paul Rogers had (and has) the best voice ever, and the songs were kind of so organic and natural they sounded like they grew on trees and were picked like lovely sweet fruit.

"Paul Kossoff made me decide I want to play guitar like that but of course I never could. Probably harder than playing like Jimmy Page."

7. After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)

"Next up, After the Gold Rush by Neil Young. The album but especially the song. I love Neil Young and think he's the best in my record collection.

"He made me realise how important words were in songs when I heard him sing, 'thinking about what a friend had said, hoping it was a lie'.

"It tapped me on the shoulder and said this is a benchmark for writing lyrics. It made me want to try and write lyrics that would have the same effect on folk I might never meet that those words from someone I'd never met had on me.

"It cemented how important good music is for the world.

8. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (1973)

"The next record in the collection was The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. With its 'out there' free floating sounds and melodies it didn't have a particular line or song but was an experience from start to finish.

"Lights out and put that on, it took me away on a different plane. Maybe it was the jazz cigarettes... I was at that age as well!"

9. How to Make Friends and Influence People - Terrorvision (1994)

"So with all these influences it's time for a record that really did change my life in every way.

"It was a record I made with my mates in Terrorvision and it was our second record - How to Make Friends and Influence People.

"This record took me round the world, quite literally. Recorded in NYC and played live all over. It got us into all the festivals, onto the tele - it really changed my life and was like a reset button on everything.

"I'm aware there's not an After the Gold Rush on there but I still write songs and make records today in search of that satisfaction and love the challenge.

"It was also who we were at the time with the influences and sounds of four lads from Bradford. It set me up in life with all the stuff I'd lose later on..."

10. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1975)

"And to the final song. It's always been there with me throughout my life. It was in the background whilst I mentioned almost all the others. It's a song that has a little bit of all the aforementioned, and will still be there the day I die.

"It's Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and I don't think I need say anymore, as I'm sure everyone knows why, and has there own reasons and beliefs as to why it's probably the worlds most loved tune.

"I join the masses in saying the future of music has a lot to live up to."