Rossie reveals the music that made him 🎶

Wake up with Rossie on Greatest Hits at Breakfast as he plays the best songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s every weekday morning from 6am!

As well as the best music, you can get involved with regular features like the Morning Mystery Oldie, The Eight Thirty Three and When I Was 17.

Who hosts the Greatest Hits Radio breakfast show?

Our brilliant presenter Simon Ross, aka Rossie, hosts Greatest Hits at Breakfast every weekday.

How can I listen to Rossie on Greatest Hits Radio?

You can find Rossie on Greatest Hits Radio from 6am Monday to Friday.

Find out all the ways you can listen to Greatest Hits Radio.

Keep reading to find out more about the music that made Rossie!

What is Rossie's favourite album from the 70s, 80s and 90s?

We asked Rossie to choose his favourite album from the 70s, 80s and 90s and he revealed that it is Duran Duran's 'Rio'.

He explained his reasoning, saying: "It featured songs like 'Save A Prayer', 'Hungry Like The Wolf', and 'Rio' which were amazing, as well as the album tracks 'Hold Back The Rain', 'The Chauffeur' and lest we not forget 'New Religion' which was an absolute masterpiece.

"I bought this album in a little independent record store in Northern Ireland, I lent it out to a friend and never got it back so had to buy a replacement copy. I ended up purchasing it three separate times, twice as an LP and once on cassette. It truly is one of the best albums out there."

What was the first single Rossie bought?

"We were out with my mum and dad and they popped into the pub after doing a little bit of shopping to have a few drinks. And you know, your parents' friends always give the kids money. Some of the friends gave me some money and I really loved the song because I've seen them on Top of the Pops," Rossie told us.

"His name was Alvin Stardust, God rest him. And he did a song called 'My Coo Ca Choo' and I remember he is wearing leather gloves with rings over the gloves, totally dressed in black leather with a great big quiff. So I went out and bought that song back in 1973/74."

What songs did Rossie listen to growing up?

We asked Rossie which songs were played in his house growing up and he told us: "Well, I've got loads of wonderful memories growing up as a kid in Northern Ireland and there was always music on. If it wasn't the radio, it would be the record player or the cassette player, and it was quite eclectic.

"Anything from the king Elvis Presley to Roy Orbison to Buddy Holly, David Bowie, ELO, even stuff like Roger Whittaker, would you believe, as a guilty favourite of mine. My dad brought this album home back in the 1970s and I thought what on earth is this? This should not be in our record collection! But slowly but surely, Roger Whitaker's voice really grew on me and to this day, I still love his voice."

What is the most embarrassing record Rossie owns?

"I've bought a few over the years!" Rossie admitted, adding: "Maybe because I was in my early 20s, I bought the song 'Cat Among The Pigeons' by Bros, which came out in late 1988. It was double A sided with 'Holy Night'. I think it was or 'Silent Night'. I quite liked 'Cat Among The Pigeons', I wasn't your biggest Bros fan and I bought that on seven inch single."

Which song reminds Rossie of being on holiday abroad?

"Yeah, that's an easy one", he said. "It was September 1982, myself and the family went to Santa Ponsa in Majorca. I was out at the discotheques throwing shapes and one song that came on, more or less, it would appear every hour at each and every nightclub that we went to, was a David Christie 'Saddle Up' and a great song it is from 1982."

What's the song that changed Rossie's life?

Reflecting on his musical influences, Rossie said: "Well, I can tell you growing up in the 70s, I was really into stuff like Blondie, Stiff Little Fingers, a Northern Irish punk band if you like The Undertones and the Ramones. Then we got into the 80s and I heard Duran Duran 'Girls on Film' with the camera sound effects at the beginning of it and I thought, 'Oh, that's clever'.

"I really started to get into them. I think that was the song that changed my life, that really was a big representation of my teenage years the whole Duran thing."

What song reminds Rossie of his last year at school?

Thinking back to his school years, Rossie shared: "The last year of school for me was college, the College of Business Studies in Belfast. It was 1985 and I was listening to all sorts of music back then. Animotion was in the charts with a song called 'Obsession', at the bars 'Rhythm of the Night' Madonna was huge around that time.

"Also, Duran Duran had brought out the Bond theme for 'A View To A Kill'. They were the tunes I was partying to back then."

What were Rossie's top three jukebox choices in the pub?

"I would have to go for Deacon Blue and 'Dignity', I think that's an amazing song. It's a great pub song," Rossie decided.

He added: "Also, I would have to go for Bob Dylan 'The Hurricane' which is value for money because it's about eight minutes long. On top of that, 'Dreaming' by Blondie. I think it's just one of those great records. I think it's their best song ever."

Are there any songs that make Rossie cry?

Rossie admitted: "Yeah, there is actually, there's two and they have both got something in common, as just by coincidence, and it would be 'The Killing of Georgie' by Rod Stewart and Jimmy Somerville's 'For A Friend'. Both songs make me really sad, but I love them both dearly."

Can Rossie sing?

We're used to hearing Rossie's voice on Greatest Hits Radio but wanted to find out how good his singing is. He told us: "Now, I use my speaking voice for a living and it has stood me in good stead for 30 years. My singing voice, I could empty a pub with four lines from any song."

Speaking about karaoke he added: "I'm a spectator when it comes to karaoke and the worst the performer is the better. There's no point in being up there and being brilliant, you've got to be really bad, a little bit like The X Factor at the beginning.

"So, there is many a song I've seen crucified on the karaoke machine. 'I Will Survive', 'Living On A Prayer', 'Summer Of 69', all of those. I've watched them being crucified and I thoroughly enjoyed them!"

What is Rossie's favourite live music moment?

"To be perfectly honest, I have quite a few," Rossie started, before telling us all about them: "I was living in Melbourne, Australia in 1988/89. By that stage, Deacon Blue were selling out arenas across the UK. I managed to get to see them in a nightclub, the 21st Century Dance Club in Frankston in the suburbs of Melbourne.

"That was up close and personal, I knew every track from every album, they only had two by the way, 'Raintown' and 'When The World Knows Your Name', so to see them in that capacity was fantastic."

He continued: "I also bumped into some friends from college in Melbourne, Australia that I'd gone to college with and Belfast. The day after that concert, my friend who was working in a radio station in Melbourne called me and said: 'Did you enjoy the gig last night?' I said I did. He said: 'Well, I've got tickets for tonight, the second performance, would you like to go?' So I saw them two nights on the bounce. That was brilliant.

"Wham's opening sequence 'Everything She Wants' at their final concert at Wembley Stadium in 1986, that was mind-blowing too."

Which artist who is no longer with us would Rossie love to see perform live?

When we asked Rossie this, he said: "Ah, that's a tough one. That is a tough one. When Elvis made his comeback in 1969 in Las Vegas when he lost the weight, he had trimmed down. He looked superb. He sounded superb. I would love to see Elvis, in that form. And looking like that and sounding like that."

If Rossie could travel back in time to watch one concert, which would he choose?

Thinking back to Live Aid on 13th July 1985, Rossie said: "I couldn't go because I was working. One of the guys that I worked with on the roadshows, the mobile discos at the time, got tickets and he was there. He phoned me after the gig and he phoned me the day after the gig and the day after that to tell me how wonderful it was.

"I would have given anything to be there, but I had just qualified as a chef and I couldn't get away. That what a tremendous gig. Fantastic."

If Rossie could have written any song from history, what would it be?

"If I could have written any song. I made reference to it before, I'm a massive fan of the sport of boxing. Bob Dylan wrote a great song about a boxer who was on his way to become the world champion in the middleweight division," Rossie revealed.

"Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter was his name, 'Hurricane' is the song of course, and wrongly incarcerated, he was accused of stuff that he didn't do and as Bob Dylan wrote at one time, he could have been the champion of the world. So for me, it would have to be 'The Hurricane' by Bob Dylan."

Does Rossie play any instruments?

He said: "I'm not musical at all and at a push the only instrument I played at school was the triangle."

We also asked him if he could go back in time and learn an instrument what would he pick? He replied: "Oh boy, if I could go back, I would have learned to play the bass guitar. That is my favourite instrument. I love a great bassline, closely followed by the way by the saxophone. They're my two favourite instruments."

What song is 100% guaranteed to get Rossie on the dancefloor?

For anyone wondering the answer to this, he shared that it is Candi Staton's 'Young Hearts Run Free', saying: "That is just instant get up and dance. It stands apart from the rest."

What were Rossie's most memorable outfits from the 70s 80s and 90s?

Talking about his fashion from the time, he responded: "I have lots of memorable outfits that I wore in the 1980s, mostly leather trousers on the bottom half and then it would be baggy shirts and huge suit jackets with massive shoulder pads.

"I looked like an American football player walking down the street and going to the discotheques back in the day. I thought I was really cool back then, I really did."

What toys does Rossie remember from growing up in the 70s, 80s and 90s?

Taking a trip down memory lane, he said: "I can clearly remember my Action Man, and then the Action Man was binned off and made way for the $6 million man Steve Austin with real gripping hands, the bionic eye and the bionic arm as well!"

Where did Rossie go out as a teenager?

Rossie told us: "When I was growing up in Northern Ireland, most nightclubs and discos were attached to a hotel. So a local hotel where I lived in Armagh was called the Drumsill, it didn't really have a name for the discotheque. There was The Chestnut Lodge that had a great nightclub as well.

"Across the border, there's a hotel called The Hillgrove. We also used to go to a discotheque, it had different names for different nights. Friday nights in Cookstown was called Spooky, Saturday nights was called Clubland and then there was a Wednesday night disco, I shouldn't have been going there as I was only 15 or 16, that was called Coach in a town called Banbridge, that was rammed and was the place to be seen. They're my fond memories."

What was the first song Rossie danced to with someone?

Thinking back, he said: "The first song I danced to was either 'Love Action' by the Human League or Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough'. It was the summer of 1981 and it was with my first ever girlfriend, Donna.

"I can remember clearly throwing those New Romantic style shapes back in the early 1980s!"

Is Rossie married?

He is, and he told us about the song he danced to with his wife at their wedding. He said: "My wife Emma and I actually got married in Gretna Green and it was a fabulous, fabulous day. The song that we danced to was a beautiful song by Robert Palmer of a commode in the late 1980s, 'She Makes My Day' was that song."

Who are the Greatest Hits Radio presenters?

We have a fantastic line-up of shows on Greatest Hits Radio, and we're excited to welcome Ken Bruce to the Greatest Hits Radio family from 3rd April. He'll host a show from 10am-1pm and will bring PopMaster with him!

Take a look through our amazing presenters.

Read more:

All you need to know about Greatest Hits at Breakfast

Everything you need to know about Drivetime with Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio

Martin Kemp reveals the music that made him 🎶

How to listen to Greatest Hits Radio:

Listen to Greatest Hits Radio on the free Rayo app, online or on your DAB digital radio. You can also listen on your smart speaker by saying “Play Greatest Hits Radio”.

• simon ross
• rossie