Samira Ahmed
The journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed talks us through her music obsessions…
What’s the first song you remember loving?
I think it was probably Northern Lights by Renaissance, but my mother would probably say it was January by Pilot, which I used to sing a lot.
What’s your all-time favourite album?
I have two choices here. My pure favourite is definitely A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles, but the album that I remember going out and buying and cherishing was Parallel Lines by Blondie. Later on, when I got my job on Newsnight as a reporter, I remember saving up a month’s salary to buy myself a proper stereo, and I bought Nonsuch by XTC. I just love that record.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Oh, it was awful. I went with a school friend to see Kajagoogoo at the Hammersmith Odeon in the mid-80s. I mean, I knew one or two singles and they were fine, but I just didn’t care. We were in the second row and everyone was screaming and I remember thinking maybe I should try and join in and then going, no, I can’t do this. All the other girls were a bit scary and fanatical.
Okay, what’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
I think it might be Iggy & The Stooges when they were part of Meltdown in 2007. When I interviewed Paul McCartney at the Royal Festival Hall, he asked me, “What gigs have you seen here?”, and I said Iggy Pop, and he was really interested in what Iggy at the Royal Festival Hall would have been like as a show. Iggy was older then but it was a proper full-on thing. He doesn’t lacerate himself anymore, but he got a big crowd of people up on stage, bouncing away. A lot of them were in suits, but they really threw themselves into it.
What’s the song that’ll always get you dancing?
Into The Groove. I was totally the right age to fall under Madonna’s spell. I just have huge admiration for her and I think I’m slightly obsessed. I used to dream about her actually. There was a book written in the early 90s, called I Dream Of Madonna, because of the number of women who used to dream about her. Not in a lesbian way, it was like she’s your best friend or sister. So yeah, she’s really important to me. I love her so much.
You’ve interviewed a lot of 80s musicians, from Duran Duran to Tears For Fears. Who haven’t you interviewed that you’d love to?
Adam Ant – and I have tried! My former editor on [Radio Four arts programme] Front Row, Philip Sellars, has been following Adam Ant since the late 70s, and so we approached him, or his company, to try to get him on. I saw Adam when he did the Dirk Wears White Sox album live and remain obsessed by both his artistry and his gentle and very feminine sexuality, which is why I think women adore him. He’s normally interviewed so badly. I’ve seen him sitting on the sofa on breakfast TV and they don’t get him at all. I think they, dare I say this, slightly laugh at him.
Samira Ahmed with Roger Taylor and John Taylor of Duran Duran
What music magazines did you buy?
Smash Hits. I was working as a reporter on Channel 4 News in the mid-2000s when it folded and they covered the story. I said, look, I know what this magazine did and it was singles not albums, it was singing along not analysing the lyrics. I really enjoyed the writing and the wit of Smash Hits even if I didn’t always like the music. By the time I went to university in ’86 I hated most of what was in the charts and switched over to Radio Four because I couldn’t stand what was on Radio One. Then I started to buy the inkies when Britpop started up. I was in my twenties and it was such an exciting time. I remember listening to
Of your Spotify end of year report, what was your most played song?
Venus by Bananarama! It was on my aerobics workout playlist that I was doing throughout lockdown.
