5 Songs I Love w/ Louis McTeggart

We sat down with Louis McTeggart around the release of his new single 'A Little Melody', to find out more about what makes his unique sound. Be sure to check out his music at the bottom and follow him along on socials! Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Buckley since hearing his debut album, Grace in 1995.  His voice, songwriting and guitar playing completely blew me away and he has been a constant inspiration to me, especially when it comes to my singing. Although Hallelujah is not my favourite song of his, (it would most likely be Last Goodbye) it is very important to me for personal reasons.  At a family Christmas party over 20 years ago I drunkenly sang it and it brought my granny to tears; this was amazing to everyone as she rarely showed emotion like that.  When she sadly passed away a few years later, my mother asked me to sing it at her funeral.  It was a poignant and heart-wrenching moment and every time I hear or sing it now it brings back sad but special memories.

Sweet 16 - The Furies 

Irish trad music is a genre I only fully really got into in my mid-thirties when I became a full-time covers act. Travelling the world as an Irish singer invariably leads you into learning a lot of Irish songs and one of my favourites had to be Sweet 16.  It was over lockdown when it became personal to me.  I would perform FB live concerts every Saturday night and found it was a great way to keep in touch friends and family.  My mother would always request the song, and I remember one night her telling me it brought her to tears… Every time I sing it now, especially when I’m travelling, it brings back bittersweet memories of a time the most important people in my world were close but still far away.

Let Down - Radiohead

When this song recently went viral, it was a bit of a surprise but not shocking, Let Down has always been a special song to me. In 1997 when OK Computer came out it was no less then a revelation to me. The songs, arrangements, musicianship and production blew my mind, and I would listen to it constantly every day. As a 17-year-old this was intoxicating stuff and Radiohead quickly became one my favourite bands. Around this time though my parents were also getting divorced and an incident happened that left me angry with my father, of course Let Down stuck out to me and I would listen to it over and over in a darkened room. I would make up my own story out of Thom Yorke’s lyrics, and it brought comfort in a horrible time.  That’s the amazing thing about this song and a lot of Radiohead’s music, despite being quite sad music there’s always an overwhelming presence of hope.

Cannonball - Damien Rice

Damien Rice’s debut album, O is a masterpiece in low-fi, impactful beauty.  Every song is a killer that tugs at your heartstrings.  I first bought it when I moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne, England to go to university. This was my first time in student halls and was a great experience full of meeting new people, making new friends and lots of partying.  One of these new people was a beautiful, goth/stroke indie girl who lived next door who I developed a huge crush on, unfortunately she didn’t feel the same so I would spend every night for about 3 months listening to Damien Rice to heal my lovelorn heart. The perils of young unrequited love lol

Champagne Supernova - Oasis

Oasis have been consistently one my favourite bands since I first heard them and Noel Gallagher has been a huge influence on my songwriting.  The album that got me into them was What’s the Story, Morning Glory. I remember just loving the sound and quality of songwriting and was so impressed by the consistency. Every song could have been a solid hit if released and when it got to Morning Glory I thought, “ok, one song to go, even if its ok this is a perfect album”, and then Champagne Supernova started. Honestly its still one of the greatest songs ever written to me, it’s up there with Hey Jude for its sheer epic scale while still having a dark, sobering tone. It’s a universal song that I have played to audiences from all around the world and it hits everyone the same. I’ve seen people from America, England and Ireland come together to sing along to it. Oasis are a rare band, they’ve created music that still unites people years after it was released.

A Little Melody - Louis McTeggart