Tony Mortimer, the man who gave us 'Deep' and a thousand 90s teen crushes, has compiled an honest playlist for The Guardian, revealing the songs that shaped him - and the one that sent partygoers scurrying to the bar.

His first single purchase was 'Shut Up' by Madness, bought with sofa-cushion change from a record shop on Hoe Street in Walthamstow, London. 'It gave me a kind of independence in the world when I could choose what I wanted,' Mortimer said, proving that even at nine, he was already curating.

Karaoke? Only once, 'really loud and absolutely inebriated on sake in Japan.' The sake hit him 'like a hammer' after a deceptively gentle start. If forced to do it again, he'd pick East 17's 'House of Love' - a strategic choice from a man who knows he'll need to remember the words.

For parties, Mortimer swears by C&C Music Factory's 'Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)' ('like an electric shock') and CeCe Peniston's 'Finally' when he's DJing. But he's also cleared a dancefloor: 'I got a bit selfish once and played Shannon's Let the Music Play - and everyone went to the bar.'

Dire Straits' 'Romeo and Juliet' is now unlistenable, tied as it is to memories of his late brother playing it on guitar. 'It's a lovely song, but it just brings me down now,' he said.

The song he secretly likes but claims to hate? 'Patience' by Take That. 'Our rivalry was always tongue-in-cheek. We secretly liked each other. The rivalry was more between our fans,' Mortimer confessed, deflating a decades-old boyband feud.

The song that changed his life is, predictably, 'Deep.' 'I know it's mine, but it smashed so many doors open. Without that song, there wouldn't have been a band.'

Mornings are not his forte, but a remix of Bob Marley's 'Sun Is Shining' by Funkstar De Luxe helps. 'Lately I've been going on the exercise bike in the mornings to lose some weight,' he added.

Adele's 'Someone Like You' makes him cry. 'It's the tone of her voice. She sounds so sincere. You can tell it comes from a place that's really honest to her.'

For his funeral, he wants Monty Python's 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.' 'It's my last chance to put a smile on their faces,' he said. But he's pragmatic: 'When I'm dead, people could play anything they want. They could play Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead…'