Andy's 10 most influential albums

1: “In Utero” – Nirvana.

"I was a teenager with no interest in music until I heard “Heart-Shaped Box” on a Saturday morning music TV show. The next day I gathered together my paper-round money and bought the album. I must have played it through four or five times on my auto-reverse cassette Walkman, and never looked back!"

​

2: “Grave Dancer's Union” – Soul Asylum.

"Having immersed myself in grunge music, my close friend at school told me about “Runaway Train” which quickly became one of those anthems of my youth. It is particularly important because someone at my club could play it on his guitar, and promised to show me, once I got hold of my own 6-string. This was my first incentive to pick up a guitar and learn to play, and it also influenced me to begin writing songs for myself, after I learned every word of every song on the album!"

​

3. “White Album” – The Beatles.

"My dad had a large vinyl collection that he recorded onto cassette to play in his car. Once I had discovered grunge, and fell for UK Indie music, I had a look through his collection, where I found this tape. I only knew “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles, before I heard this. I was instantly captivated by the song-writing and variety of songs and immediately became a fan, slowly getting the whole back catalogue. "Yer Blues" was also the song that introduced me to classic Blues music."

​

4. “Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” – Pink Floyd.

"Another tape in my dad’s collection was this gem. This album introduced me to the fantastic world of psychedelic rock, from the late 1960s! Although I love post Syd Barrett Pink Floyd, this album has a particular place in my heart."

​

5. “Wish” – The Cure.

"The first album I discovered by The Cure, as “Friday I'm In Love” had been released as a single. Listening to this whole album filled my shoe-gazing, over-emotional teenage soul with hope. This album opened my eyes and my heart to a new sound, and my love of post-punk/goth began."

​

6. “First And Last And Always” – Sisters Of Mercy.

"A very close friend introduced me to the Sisters at the same time as Joy Division (he also educated me on the older Cure albums from the same time). I was immediately hooked by the 'post-punk/goth' sound, especially the bass and it really influenced the kind of songs I tried to learn on the guitar, then consequently the style of songs I would write."

​

7. “The Bends” – Radiohead.

"Back in the mid 90s this was one of the most accomplished albums released by any indie band (and before OK Computer). I would listen to it almost every day. There are heavy rock numbers, bright pop songs and delicate ballads, all on one complete album."

​

8. “Placebo” – Placebo.

"I used to stay up late, every night during the mid 90s , listening to the Evening Session (with Steve Lamaq and Jo Whiley) and Mark Radcliffe's late night show. There were so many new bands to discover and Placebo was one of the most exciting. I first heard “Come Home” then “Teenage Angst” and became a big fan. By the time I had left home and moved to London they had released “Nancy Boy” and I saved up money to buy the album upon it's second release. It seriously influenced my style of writing guitar songs, steering me towards a more punk high-energy style."

​

9. “Hair Of The Dog” – Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster.

"I had lost interest in music during the noughties. Indie had become middle-class, middle-of-the-road, and over-produced; grunge was gone and nu-metal had taken over; so I could only take solace in my old music collection. I used to watch MTV2 in the hope of seeing something new and exciting: “Psychosis Safari” was the ray of hope I had been looking for. Dark and raw, upbeat and energetic, I couldn't wait to see that song on the TV again, in those days before the internet took over. I bought the single and waited ages for the album to be released, and was not disappointed. This was a band I could finally get my teeth into, and gave me the taste for picking up the bass."

​

10. "Nonagon Infinity" - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard

"Fast forward to 2017, and I was intrigued by the name of this Australian band. After just one listen, on YouTube, I was won over! Described as the world's first infinitely looping album, it is high energy and intense; full of action and adventure. The band dared themselves (and succeeded) to release five full albums in the year 2018 (all of great quality) and have grown stronger with every release - something we can all aspire to. Nonagon Infinity marks the best starting point to getting into this band."

​

By Andy

​

Andy's Musical Equipment

​

• Guitar: Ibanez SDGR305 (5-string bass), Harley Benton electro-acoustic (4-string bass)

• Effects: Zoom B3 pedal

• Amp: Roland Super Cube 100W amplifier