THE STARS REVEAL THE SONIC DELIGHTS GUARANTEED TO GET THEM GOING...
Russell Crowe
What music are you currently grooving to?
A young American dude called Brake, he’s got a song called Cigarettes & Black Lipstick Stains which is just crazy, man. I’m also really getting into Ren, a sort of poet/rapper extraordinaire, and Teddy Swims, who’s got a beautiful voice. And Lennie Loftin from North Carolina, who specialises in songs about murder.
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?
Man, it changes, right? But Etta James’s Love’s Been Rough On Me has been a constant record in my life, probably since about ’98, and I sort of circle back to it every few years. At another point in time, it would have been something by The Blasters or Robert Gordon or Elvis Costello’s King Of America – what a record!
What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
It was a record store called Zounds in Sydney. It was possibly Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings.
Which musician, other than yourself, have you ever wanted to be?
Probably Elvis, y’know, ’54 to ’59. I’m a big fan of Billy Bragg and Bob Geldof, who I think gets very little credit for his talent as a songwriter.
What do you sing in the shower?
Lately, an Italian song called Sarà Perché Ti Amo, and also The Confrontation Duet from Les Misérables, because I get to perform that later on in the year with Andrea Bocelli.
What is your favourite Saturday night record?
If I’ve had a heavy week’s work, Marvin Gaye, or maybe John Coltrane.
And your Sunday morning record?
I’ll gently guide myself into the day with something like Lakmé by Delibes. Or Johnny Cash.
Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Party plays the UK and Ireland in July.
Bernard Butler
What music are you currently grooving to?
Radio 3 in the kitchen and Magic in the shower. I don’t like being close to music that I might make, and I like being neither here nor there.
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?
Spirit Of Eden, Talk Talk. It travels well through my life, continuing to perplex me. I lean into every word, every noise. It tells me to keep learning and never stops being beautiful.
What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
The Smiths, The Smiths, at W.H. Smith’s in Wood Green the Saturday after release with my Christmas gift voucher. I think about it every time I walk through Wood Green.
Which musician, other than yourself, have you ever wanted to be?
As a kid I wanted Johnny Marr for the [Gibson ES-] 355, Roddy Frame for the double denim, Bernard Sumner for the haircut. I got the 355, am always happy in double dens but my hair is better long so I named my dog aft
