childhood theme tunes

"Looking back now, that’s where it all began, little me testing myself with song lyrics."

Everyone has a catalogue of artists that are their go to for certain emotions, or you may have a playlist of music that resonates with your childhood. Having parents that were involved in both music & dance, it’s fair to say that music was the colour of my childhood. Here is my childhood playlist:

Guns N’ Roses & Metallica: On my bus journeys to & from home, my iPod Classic or Shuffle screamed rock & metal music. Whether it was Double Talkin’ Jive or The Unforgiven, these journeys developed my headbanging skills & each journey made the black eyeliner on my eyes get thicker & thicker. During secondary school I became the archetype of teenage angst & emo behaviour. My mum would be questioned on a daily basis when I could get more piercings, or how old I could be until I got my first tattoo. I put her through it that’s for sure. The piercings on my ears managed to get to three holes on each side but the tattoo managed to hold up until I turned 18. I even managed to hide one tattoo from my dad for 2 years…

Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera & Ashlee Simpson: Growing with a father who was a musician I had the understanding of writing your own song lyrics from a young age & I used to have this ‘hobby’ of listening to songs, writing down what I thought I heard & then comparing it to the album pamphlet that came in the hard case to see if I got it right. I used to draw my own versions of album covers & make my own booklets. Looking back, doing this was probably what encouraged me to get into poetry, then later down the line influenced my turn to Journalism at university. This ultimately has turned into this blog today. Looking back now, that’s where it all began, little me testing myself with song lyrics.

"I’ve always said that it was actually folk dancing that gave birth to me & I’m forever grateful for it"

The Beatles: There is no other band that defines my childhood than the Beatles. Every Saturday evening or Sunday morning I’d watch their films & knew their 1 album by heart, knowing which song came next. Yeah, you could say it’s no surprise that my father’s love of living & breathing anything Beatle would follow through to me. It’s a bit like learning music, learning to read & write music can form the basis of a musician, The Beatles were my masterclass in learning to love music.

The Big Money by Rush: This song in particular always reminds me of speeding over the Brent Cross flyover in North London on Saturday mornings on the way to Greek school. Dad knew I had a weird love for going over flyovers, or long stretches of road, to this particular song & would always time it perfectly for me. I had never even heard of the word euphoric at that age but it made me feel just like that & John Rutsey’s drumming always gave me a thrill. I thought he was an absolute genius.

XTC, in particular their Apple Venus Demo album: Their music was otherworldly for me. Songs like River of Orchids and Greenman, which even to this day, take me to a fantasy world. It was like experiencing Lord of the Rings & Middle Earth but in the modern day.

Greek folk: I think this one goes without saying. Whether it was Laika & Cypriot music that my mum loved listening to, which brought back her youth travelling through Greece & Cyprus, or dad whistling away to Pontic or Macedonian folk tunes, I always resonated with folk music as it was in my blood. Both parents met through folk dancing so I’ve always said that it was actually folk dancing that gave birth to me & I’m forever grateful for it. Artists like Nikos Xilouris and Michalis Violaris particularly resonate with me too as mum had two of their albums on tape in her car & they were always my go to when we’d get in the car to go somewhere.

Let me know what music resonates with your childhood and let’s keep the golden oldies going especially!

Rhéa x

Listen to my playlist on Spotify🎧