Music’s always had a strong impact on my life, but I’ve only recently sat back and thought how big the impact’s been.

Music and smells for me are what take me back, I can find myself back in my first pair of ballet shoes through song or back on a random camping holiday through smell.

The ability to listen to a song and remember pure emotion is something that I’ll always value. So I’ll stop rambling and give you an insight to the songs that have stuck with me the most, here is a music timeline of my life.

2001
30.04.01 is my date of birth, a complete week after Don’t Stop Movin’ – S Club 7 was released. This song is one that me and my sisters would constantly dance around the dining room to through out our childhood, sliding over the top of the laminate floor. A few years later, we all found ourselves dancing to this as the finale in a dance show, we still know bits of the routine but I won’t threaten you.

2002
The next song I remember vividly from birthday parties etc is Sound of the Underground – Girls Aloud. This was one of the many songs that I owe my sisters for introducing me to. As they got bored of them, I’d steal their tapes and CD’s to come up with dance routines in my room.

2003
Right so did anyone else own the Pop Princess CD that was purple with pink bubbles and yellow writing? Nope, just us. Well I have to declare your childhood invalid if you don’t know what I’m talking about. To be honest this whole CD takes me straight back to my childhood, as well as the DVD of music videos. But one song in particular takes me right back to dancing on my bed, hairbrush in hand, Scandalous – Mis Teeq. I’d put this one on repeat and go through it singing a different band member’s part each time, only in the last year or two have I realised how inappropriate it is and that I should not have belted out each lyric.

I’m gonna pop this one in without a specific year. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps – Doris Day is part of the Strictly Ballroom sound track, a sacred piece of cinematography within our household. My mum has always been big on Doris Day and the cross over of her and Baz Luhrmann resulted in this song being religiously pumped out of the speakers.

In the Ghetto – Elvis, one that brings a tear to my eye. Like Mis Teeq, this song has a meaning that I wasn’t always appreciative of when I was younger- but in a very different sense. This song is far more meaningful than I ever knew as a child and remains one of my favourite songs, the kind that you feel comes on shuffle for a reason, reminding you to value everything you have.

2004
Well next is the whole of the American Idiot album really, but especially Boulevard of Broken Dreams. This album was a firm favourite of my dad’s and takes me right back to being in his Audi and driving to pick my brother up. You know how I said I have a powerful sense of smell? Well I can still smell the leather seats and feel my stomach jitter as my dad gets too cocky with his speed.

My mum had this disco fever CD, she gets the credit for my love of disco music. Whilst He’s the Greatest Dancer – Sister Sledge will always remind me of her, Ring My Bell – Anita Ward puts me straight back in my dining room once again, sliding around and learning how to really get my groove on.

2005
This one you must remember, Switch – Will Smith. This was another song that was used in one of our dance shows, one of the many dances I wasn’t in but learnt from the wings. If I ever need perking up I put my 00s playlist on and if this comes on my mood shoots right up. If I’m listening to it with my sister, we will each take on one part of the song each- I have to say we’ve nailed it.

This year gets two songs because I could never leave out Dakota – Stereophonics. Over the years this song has become mine and my dad’s song (I’m a proper daddy’s girl). It once again takes me back to the days of his Audi. This song brings up all sorts of emotions to the point of having tears stream down my face when I saw them at Y Not last summer. It will be one that I’m sure I will have loads more memories about in the future.

2006
Go Let it Out – Oasis. They were bound to make an appearance, the Gallaghers. The early half of my music timeline is heavily influenced by my parents. Although my mother isn’t one to kneel down and salute these Burnage brothers, she was always partial to her Stop the clocks CD. I don’t give Oasis the God like status that many do, but they do hold some fond memories for me.

Another song that will forever remind me of my dad is Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol, one that makes him teary and therefore me in turn.

2009
So my dad was always a huge advocate of Lily Allen, back in these days I didn’t appreciate The Jam or James so I’d skip past them on his iPod and put her on. Not fair is another song that I definitely shouldn’t have been singing aged 8, I remember my sister telling my dad off for letting me listen to it. I’m more than glad he did let me as her music still means a lot to me. (Littlest Things was my go to Singstar choice).

2010
So like most of us, JLS were my first boyband loves (JB was my personal favourite). I think Kickstart was my favourite on the album that was embarrassingly handed to me by a removal man as we moved house years later. I can’t have had too closer of an attachment to the CD that remained down the side of my bed for so long, but when it comes on when I’m with my friends, I don’t half take it seriously.

So as the years went on, I became independent with my music. Sally Cinnamon and Disco 2000 were songs I’d obviously heard through out my childhood but with my early teens came a new serious attitude towards music.

In 2013 when Anna by The Courteeners was released, I had united with the first album on which I would know every lyric. Push Yourself was the song that always meant the most to me on that album and although I have far outgrown Courteeners, that album will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Meanwhile came Nina Nesbitt and her Peroxide album, the next album I’d soon know every lyric on. She was probably the first musician I was obsessed by. I dragged my sister to her HMV album signing and chose her for my music project in year 8ish. After she released Stay Out as a single, that was it, I was hooked. And I must add, she is possibly one of the most beautiful humans I’ve ever seen and that remains fact.

I went through a phase in about 2014-2015 when I was at gigs what felt like every week. You can look back on here and find my write up on the Circa Waves gig. Stuck in my teeth was the first song of theirs I got into, and it catapulted me into the music scene.

2015, that wasn’t long ago bloody hell. By this point I’d made the beginnings of what is now a 70 hour long Spotify playlist. 2015 saw the rise of Blossoms and the rise of people knowing what you meant when you said you were from Stockport. Across the Moor was always my favourite Blossoms song but Polka dot Bones is the one that really takes me back to discovering them; I have too many special memories of their gigs.

2016 took me to Y Not for the first time, my first ever music festival. Everything Everything had always been a band I loved listening to, but when I saw them on the lineup it made me rediscover them. No reptiles is still a jam to me and I vouch that before I die I will learn all the lyrics.

2017 was a huge year of memories for me, ups and downs. But I’ll go off my Spotify stats and say that Edge of Seventeen was my most listened to song of 2017. Everyday was dedicated to music for me, meeting so many people in the music industry and realising the pleasure I get from music. Although it wasn’t my most played song, I can already feel that HMLTD’s Satan, Luella and I will be a song I relate to that year.

In 2018 so far I’ve discovered enough new music to do a week by week breakdown but Jorja Smith and Dire Straits have hands down been the artists I’ve been reaching for the most.

I can not tell you my excitement to make more music related memories and develop my music knowledge even further.

I hope this made you reminisce slightly and maybe gave you some comfort through reminding you of music that means the world to yourself.