The first thing to note is that it's impossible to limit yourself to ten songs. It would be unfair to all the other great songs. But these are the ones that if you sat me in a room and played them over and over, I would be quite happy with. They are in no particular order…

My Top 10

1. 24 hours from Tulsa – Gene Pitney - I recently rediscovered this song on a Burt Bacharach compilation album and realised I'd never really listened to the words. It's a great story, kind of heartbreaking and I feel sorry for the poor woman he's writing to.

2. Good Souls – Starsailor - I have a real soft spot for Starsailor and especially this album. Every now and then you get an album that just clicks with you and this is one for me. There's a great rumbling bass line on this song and James Walsh has a great plaintive voice.

3. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley - I love listening to a bit of Elvis on my iPod. There's a great wee guitar bit at the start that of this you don't notice as much normally. "Ning ning ning ning diddle-iddle ing ding." It's a classic and I just love it.

4. Too Much Too Young – The Specials - I was quite young when this came out, and although I didn't know what, I felt there was something a bit risqué about it. It still has a youthful exuberance about it that takes me back to my youth.

5. Let Love Rule – Lenny Kravitz - I first heard this song when I went to London for a job interview in 1989/1990 and I loved his voice. I got the job and when I moved to London his was the first gig I went to see.

6. Alive – Pearl Jam - For a long time I was a big rock fan and living in London in the early '90s was a dream with all the bands you could go and see. Northern Ireland still didn't have that many big name bands playing at that time. I managed to get tickets to see Pearl Jam at Brixton Academy in about 1993 and thought I was the coolest person alive. This song still makes me feel that way.

7. Groove is in the Heart – Dee-Lite - This is one that I took an instant liking to when it first came out and whenever I hear it now it still makes me want to jig about. It's another one with a great bass line and from the video Dee-Lite were clearly a bit mad. It's one of a few that would probably still get me onto a dance floor these days.

8. Valerie – Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse - This is my current favourite song. I think Amy Winehouse has the most amazing voice and they have turned this from an average pop song into a fantastic one. It always gets turned up when I hear it on the radio and if there's no one listening I sing along.

9. In These Shoes – Kirsty MacColl - I love Kirsty MacColl's stuff, her songs have a great sense of humour and she had a really distinctive voice. Before she died I think she was becoming more and more influenced by South American music so this has got kind of a Latin feel to it which I really like.

10. Don't Stop Believin' – Journey - This is a really cheesy piece of American 80's soft rock and I should hate it and everything it represents. But I don't. I heard it being covered in a piano bar in New Orleans when I was there in 2003 and all the Americans in the bar were belting it out. It was a real "moment" and it reminds me of a great holiday. I bought Journey's Greatest Hits album on the strength of it but it's practically unlistenable apart from this one song.

How do your Top 10 songs compare? Send your Top 10 to lorna.mckay@jpress.co.uk Those chosen for pubclication will receive a £10 HMV voucher