The first song I remember hearing
David Bowie – ‘Life On Mars?’
“My mum is a huge David Bowie fan. He was playing in the car all the time when I was a kid. Pretty much the only time me and my mum have been to a gig together was to see Bowie in 2001 on his ‘A Reality Tour’. He was so far away but when he appeared on stage, this tiny little figure, she absolutely lost her mind. It was like she was a teenager again.”
The first album I bought
Rocket From The Crypt – ‘Scream, Dracula, Scream!’
“I’m going to name two albums because I can’t remember which I bought first, but one’s a lot cooler than the other. I remember buying this Rocket From The Crypt album, which I still absolutely love, because I heard [the single] ‘Young Livers’ on the listening post at Virgin Megastore. But, thanks to the same listening post, I also bought a Robson & Jerome album. Clearly I didn’t know who I was yet.”
The first gig I went to
Korn – Wembley Arena, 2000
“We got there, like, four hours before doors opened just to hang out with the other metal fans. I remember a man set fire to his pubes in the queue, which was a lot to take in at the time. But the mosh pit for Korn was absolutely epic and I was on an adrenaline high the whole time. Lots of us were into nu-metal at school, then everyone else sort of dropped off. But I’m 40 now and still absolutely love it.”
The song that reminds me of home
Guns N’ Roses – ‘Welcome To The Jungle’
“I don’t think my mum was a particularly huge fan of Guns N’ Roses, but [their 1987 debut] ‘Appetite For Destruction’ was a massive album at the time, so she had it on cassette. I’d listen to the whole album sometimes, but mainly I just wore out the tape playing ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ over and over again.”
The song I do at karaoke
Meat Loaf – ‘Bat Out Of Hell’
“I always do the full version of ‘Bat Out Of Hell’. People think it’s ended after four minutes, but there’s still another five minutes left. He still needs to crash the bike and ascend to heaven! Meat Loaf was an incredible, operatic rock singer, but I feel like I can get through this song on sheer guts. Saying that, my friends always make me do it first to get it out the way.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Slipknot – ‘Before I Forget’
“I completely spoil any song I walk out on stage to. Because I hear it night after night on tour, it becomes a kind of chemical memory that makes my adrenaline shoot up. This is one of my favourite songs ever but whenever I hear the intro, it makes me feel like there should be flashing lights and an audience waiting. So I have to skip it now.”
The song that makes me want to dance
Less Than Jake – ‘All My Best Friends Are Metalheads’
“I very rarely want to dance, and I certainly don’t go out to dance. But sometimes, when the sun’s out, all I want to do is crack open a lager and dance to ska-punk in the kitchen. Normally I make my wife leave the room first.”
The song that makes me cry
Ren – ‘Hi Ren’
“I think Ren is an incredible artist – he really knows how to connect to his own emotions – and this song went mega-viral for him. He’s sort of duetting with his horrible inner thoughts, but then there’s a moment later in the song where he suddenly starts singing in this stunning soaring voice. It’s almost not the content of the song that makes me cry, it’s the shock of him being able to sing so amazingly.”
The song I wish I’d written
Tenacious D – ‘Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)’
“I have absolutely no inclination to ever write music, but if I had to think about something I wish I’d written, it would be a comedy song. Lately I’ve been going back and listening to Tenacious D, especially the Pick Of Destiny soundtrack, and I love this song that’s basically them versus Satan. It’s so funny but it’s also got genuine metal chops.”
The song I want played at my funeral
Supermilk – ‘Sweat’
“I feel like it would be appropriate for my wife’s band, Supermilk, to play at my funeral. That would be a gig like no other. They make genuinely brilliant, hyped-up indie music with a punky edge, and I’d like this song played as I get lowered into the ground.”
Ed Gamble hosts new comedy panel show ‘Unacceptable’ which premieres Sunday July 5 on TLC and discovery+