Advertisement

‘I’ve recently got into Ozzy Osbourne. People think he’s a bit weird’: Paul Chowdhry’s honest playlist

The first song I remember hearing
Can’t Buy Me Love by the Beatles. My brother and sister are a lot older than me – 17 years – and my brother was a massive Beatles fan, so I grew up in the 80s to a lot of 60s and 70s music. I remember finding the video to Yellow Submarine very scary.

The first single I bought
Chris Evans had a competition when he was still a local DJ on BBC Radio London in the early 90s, where you had to phone up and answer some sort of stupid question. I won a copy of Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul on 7in single, and they posted it to me.

The song that’s my karaoke go-to
I did The Beautiful Ones by Prince for the pilot of Lip Sync Battle on Channel 5, which was a bit niche. I was at Prince’s last ever London concert at Koko in London. I’m a big fan.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
Careless Whisper by George Michael. He grew up in the same part of north London as me, so I’d often drive past his house. His dad used to own a Greek restaurant in Edgware.

The best song to play at a party
When I was young, you’d always hear Slam by Onyx. If people don’t dance to that, it’s not a party.

The last song I streamed
I’ve recently got into Ozzy Osbourne, so The Wizard by Black Sabbath. People think he’s a bit weird, but that’s thanks to nearly wiping out his immune system with copious amounts of drugs. Why else would you bite the heads off of bats and doves at record company meetings? So – interesting fellow.

The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hate
When Will I Be Famous? by Bros. You’d never admit to that publicly. All the girls fancied them at school, but that recent Bros documentary was like Spinal Tap mixed with The Office.

The best song to have sex to
Rocket Man by Elton John. It says so many things about the sexual act itself. It’s quite short, though, so you might have to put it on repeat!

The song I wish I’d written
All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey. I worked for Mariah Carey when I was doing my media degree. One of my mates from uni got me a job at Wembley and I ended up taking her bags to the car. Then years later, I sold out the same venue.

The song I can’t help singing
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It’s almost like a hymn anyway. Everyone knows the lyrics to O Come, All Ye Faithful and everyone knows the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody. In years to come, people will think it was part of the Holy Bible itself.

Paul Chowdhry: Family-Friendly Comedian is touring until 28 May.