Elle Palmer

Paul McCartney once spoke about the lyrics to his favourite Beatles song, acknowledging the surprising, cyclical nature of his writing.

Brian Wilson once named his favourite Randy Newman album, a record he listened to on repeat while creating an EP of his own for The Beach Boys.

On a dark night several decades ago, Kate Bush pulled over by the side of the road to discover a strange phenomenon in the sky above her.

Talking Heads frontman David Byrne once shared his love for a classic track that preempted punk, a distillation of desire and dog metaphors.

Lou Reed once named his favourite lyric from his own catalogue, forgoing his work for The Velvet Underground in favour of a heavy solo effort.

David Bowie once shared the single by The Kinks that he thought was "timeless", naming Ray Davies as one of our leading songwriters: "he's just got it".

Though he would later share his admiration for the mammoth songwriter, there was one Beatle whose playing would reportedly make Bob Dylan leave the room.

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page once picked out the two 1960s musicians he believed to be "spacewards thinking," artists who would change rock forever.

We all have an artist who is guaranteed to make us cry, a band or singer we turn to when we need to completely wallow in our emotions.

Morgan Freeman is used to making box office hits and critically acclaimed features, but there is one project the actor starred in that immediately flopped.