Tom York

The way he sings it leaves me gobsmacked every time.

It's saying, I'm here now, this is happening now, and then it's going to be gone, and I'm going to be moving on, trying to relay my dreams to someone else.

As we all want to do, as we all need to do, and there I am on my desert island, not able to do that, so it felt a good choice for that.

From my cigarette It's raining today, Scott Walker.

Tom York, you were born in Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, 1968.

Apparently so.

Along with your brother Andy and your parents Barbara and Grabe, you eventually settled in Oxford in the late 70s.

How would you describe family life?

Well, actually, before the 70s, we were in Scotland.

I had a thick Scottish accent, which I can still recall now.

Yeah, what was it like?

It was very normal.

Suburban, lived in a house down a cul-de-sac.

Father was a sort of complicated chemical engineering stuff I didn't understand.

Yeah.

What were you listening to?

Breaking Things.

In fact, I listened to Jeremy Deller talking about this.

It's very similar to him.

Started off recording stuff off the radio, watching Top of the Pops, getting excited when something weird happened like Gary Neumann.