Jan Tuson’s Playlist
Dancing Queen – ABBA
I sang this in karaoke at the AGM of the first advocacy charity I worked for, which provided advocacy to adults with learning disabilities. I sang it alongside my friend and colleague and two adults with learning disabilities. It was so much fun, even though we were all out of tune(!), and to this day I am taken back to that day whenever I hear it. It’s a song that always gets me up on the dance floor.
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Off the Wall was the first album I ever bought. I was 13 when it was released, and I was obsessed with all things Michael Jackson. I even spent ages photocopying and cutting out all the lyrics from the whole album and covering my school A4 ring binder with them. This song is one of many I could have chosen from the album. Around ten years later, I was lucky enough to see him in concert at Wembley Stadium.
Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)? – Buzzcocks
This song reminds me of a party I went to as a teenager in a friend’s house. I had a crush on a boy, Gerard, who lived in the next street, and he played this for me at the party. He subsequently became my first boyfriend.
Don’t You Want Me – The Human League
This song came out when I was 14. It reminds me of my teenage years — of friends and going to the local disco — and I have grown to love it more and more over the years.
Til My Baby Comes Home – Luther Vandross
In my first year at university I started seeing someone, and when he went home for the Xmas holidays, he gave me a cassette he had recorded of various tracks. This was my favourite song on the cassette as the lyrics expressed how he felt about me. We later went on to marry.
