Political Spin: Rachael Hamilton

What was the first record that you ever bought?

 The Human League’s Don't You Want Me.

 What record will always get you on the dance floor?

For big family gatherings, our signature tune is [The Foundations’] Build Me Up Buttercup. We all go wild.

What is your karaoke song?

I did karaoke in China with Marc Crothall from the Scottish Tourism Alliance and BBC World until the early hours of the morning, and that was great fun. But I'm more of a car karaoke singer, something like a good old-fashioned Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen. And that [song] brings back amazing memories because I was caught when I was a teenager with my friend trying to smoke Marlboro lights on the harbour in Dale in Pembrokeshire and we were blaring out Lover Boy, and we thought nobody could see us, but her parents were looking through the window of the holiday house with binoculars.

What song do you want played at your funeral?

I want a very traditional funeral. I came from the Welsh borders, so I want to have Abide With Me and How Great Thou Art. And, I'm going to be cremated, and as my coffin very dramatically disappears, I want it to be playing Don't Stop Me Now by Queen.

What song is it guaranteed to make you cry?

The Welsh national anthem. I do think the Welsh have an edge over the Scots when they sing their national anthem at the rugby.

What song was the first dance at your wedding?

This is a terrible story. We held our wedding party in a tent, and we'd asked the DJ to play Mack the Knife by Robbie Williams, which he didn't have. And he got more stressed by the minute because the generator that was powering his decks kept cutting out. So, every time we asked him for a song, he didn't have it. After about three attempts he just said, “I've got Angels by Robbie Williams. You'll just have to have that.” Neither of us liked that song, but we had no choice, so we just had to go and get it over and done with.

What record would you be embarrassed to owning up to having in your collection?

In my late teens, I went to a young farmers’ party, and I was wearing a red dress and this guy that fancied me asked me to dance to Chris de Burgh’s The Lady in Red, and it wasn't reciprocal. So, I went to dance with him, and it was towards the end of the night and there were just a few people on the dance floor who were snogging, and it was really cheesy, and I just had the ick. I just absolutely cannot stand that song.

Getting to know you: Rachael Hamilton