Changing tracks: Christopher Brookmyre

Author Christopher Brookmyre shares his top five musical moments

INTO THE VALLEY
The Skids

This was the first single I bought with my own pocket money. I'm sure I nagged my parents to get me singles before but this is the first one I saved up for. It had an almost hardwiring effect on what then constituted good rock music for me. I just loved the guitar sound Stuart Adamson created and the fact it wasn't a song about love or dancing. From then on I was never into the poppy stuff.

MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN
Queen

I was a big Queen fan, which usually causes people to throw their hands up in horror. This song is quite strange and experimental in ways and one of the things which disappoints me in people's perception of Queen is that they always think of the pantomime stuff, when actually they were much more multi-faceted than they're thought to be.

BEAUTIFUL HERESY
Billy Franks

This was one of his first solo efforts after leaving the Faith Brothers and it's brilliantly charismatic and uplifting. It's not really a song about rejecting religion; more one about picking your own philosophy even if it doesn't fit in with other people's points of view.

FASTER
The Manic Street Preachers

I must have been in my late 20s when I first got into this band. They really made me feel like being 15 again. I loved going to their gigs and getting that youthful feeling of excitement and I think this song typified them – articulate and angry. Last time I saw them at the Corn Exchange they were playing these quirky, obscure Skids songs to the crowd before they came on, and that's another reason to like them.

THE TWILITE KID
The Twilight Singers

First track on their first album and just one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever. They called the album Twilight and they set out to make music which would sound like twilight and they achieved this pretty well. It's relaxed and quite chilled out but always with something sinister underneath it. Putting it on at any other time would just seem sacrilegious.

• Attack Of The Killer Ducks is out on paperback on June 5. Christopher Brookmyre will be reading at Waterstone's (0131-225 3436) Edinburgh, June 10 at 6.30pm