Adventurer and man of the great outdoors, Bear Grylls is devoted to Marcus Mumford and the soundtrack to Everest
The song that reminds me of climbing Everest
James Horner – ‘Braveheart OST’
“For three and a half months on Everest I listened to that. It was one of only about five things I had, alongside some country and western. Everyone else would climb with quite heavy-duty music but I found classical music actually really powerful.”
The composer behind my arena show
Guy Farley
“If I could’ve climbed Everest to a soundtrack, this would’ve been it. It’s very rousing and emotional. He wrote something for us and we just instantly thought, ‘This is it, this is what we’re looking for to soundtrack the show.’”
The song I do at karaoke
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes – ‘Up Where We Belong’
“I remember doing karaoke with an old bunch of soldiers in Marrakech years ago. We’d been out in the desert for a long time and we had a night off in a weird backstreet bar in the middle of this Moroccan city. It was very tough soldiers suddenly looking very ridiculous singing silly songs. We all did ‘Up Where We Belong’ and it was pretty messy.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Yazz & the plastic population – ‘The Only Way Is Up’
“It’d always be played whenever I do my Everest talk – I now kind of wince when I hear it.”
The song that makes me dance
Mumford & Sons – ‘Believe’
“I love Marcus Mumford; he’s a good guy and a brilliant man. He’s always lovely to our family and I love his lyrics. He’s just a cool guy. I think if you were being really complimentary about my dancing you’d call it free, but if you were being honest about my dancing you’d call it out of time and terrible.”
The first song I remember hearing
ABBA – ‘Thank You For The Music’
“My older sister would always have ABBA blaring in her room. She used to sing ‘Thank You For The Music’ and butchered it.”
The artist I listen to before an adventure
The Lonesome Trio
“You know the actor Ed Helms? He’s got a bluegrass band. It’s just brilliant, brilliant music. I remember looking at a map with him up a mountain and he said, ‘You’re going to love my sort of music.’ And I did, I loved it. He’s a brilliant songwriter and they’re a really great, fun band.”
The song I want played at my funeral
Jimmy Fontana- ‘Il Mondo’
“Maybe that beautiful piece of music from [2013 film] About Time. It’s heart-led, it’s passionate, it’s catchy and it’s riddled with emotion and power.”
The first song I fell in love with
Queen – ‘We Are The Champions’
“It’s one I played really loudly, aged about 15, when I got my black belt in karate. I remember getting back to my room and just feeling so proud that after all this hard work and all those years I finally got a black belt. Just lying on the floor listening to that and thinking all those training sessions were worth it.”
The first album I bought
The Alan Parsons Project – ‘Gaudi’
“I bought it on King’s Road in London. I was given some money for a taxi to get home by my parents but I went in with some friends, spent it on that and then walked home. It took me about four hours!”
Bear Grylls’ live arena tour Endeavour: Your Adventure Awaits, begins at the SSE Wembley Arena on October 7. Visit beargryllslive.com