Last night Himself asked me what was the first piece of music that made an impression.
I had to rack my brains, because I didn’t come from a musical family. Nor did we sing at school. But then I remembered. It was a record of My Fair Lady – not the film version but the Broadway version with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. My uncle and aunt had been to see it in New York and brought the record back for my parents.
They didn’t play it much but I loved it. I used to stare at the cover, a mass of grandiose black and white swirls – from the Ascot scene I think – carefully finger the vinyl record, and play it over and over again.
I would dance round the living room as I learnt every line, every note and made up every step, because I couldn’t imagine singing without dancing.
Even now, all these years later, I’m still word perfect. So it shows the brain’s working somehow.
What’s your first musical memory?
