The Essential Weekly Playlist of: Tally Spear

Tally Spear is a folk/pop writer & singer, born and raised in London. Her latest single, ‘Just Don’t Know’, is out now and is available on all platforms.

BONNIE RAIT – GREEN LIGHTS

This track is honestly the only song by Bonnie Raitt I have ever truly listened to, it seems to be a hidden gem that not many people know about. When I hang out with my musician friends, we always end up jamming this one.

CHUMBAWUMBA – TUBTHUMPING

I was in the car with my dad one time talking about music, and he brought up this track “Tubthumping.” I almost decided to ignore him when I heard the name of the song, but I gave it a listen anyway. Well, I totally fell for it! I think it’s iconic.

HUBERT SUMLIN – SMOKESTACK

When I went away to Crete last summer, I brought with me a little deck of cards I picked up in a music store in London. Each card had guitar tabs for an blues song, and Smokestack was one of them. I hadn’t properly listened to the song before then, but it went down a treat. It’s on my everyday listening playlist now.

FOXYGEN – NO DESTRUCTION

I saw Foxygen live in 2014 at London’s Village Underground, and they were one of the best live acts I’ve seen around the city! They played on Halloween and it was strangely appropriate — they put on quite a show.

JAMES TAYLOR – MEXICO

I used to listen to this song at University in my flat share, so it really takes me back to that time — it’s weird listening to songs that do that to you.

BOB DYLAN – IT’S ALRIGHT MA (I’M ONLY BLEEDING)

One of my favourite Dylan songs. I remember last Winter, on a long and dark car journey at around 6am, I had this song on repeat. I must have listened to it at least 10 times, and every time I noticed and pondered long and hard on a different lyric… Don’t think that happens all that often with a song.

PIXIES – HERE COMES YOUR MAN

I first heard this song when I was in Sri Lanka with a good friend. My usual Pixies go-to track is ‘Where is My Mind’ (another all time fave) but, when I was about to play it for the fifth time in a row on a long road trip, my friend rightfully changed the track to ‘Heres Comes My Man.’ I quickly developed a passion for it so… it got repeatedly played for the rest of the trip!

THE ROLLING STONES – START ME UP

This track is just iconic, I think. As soon as that opening riff comes in, you know you’re listening to a hit record. The Rolling Stones are my go-to band for when I want to feel good.

FLYTE – MARRY ME ARCHIE (ORIGINALLY BY ALVVAYS)

I really love this song. The first time I heard it was on YouTube — an acapella cover by a group called ‘Flyte.’ It’s really beautiful, and transforms the original song into something totally new!

THE BEATLES – I SAW HER STANDING THERE

The Beatles are my dads all time favourite bands, – my grandpa knew the four of them well after being in their Magical Mystery Tour film – so I’ve grown up with their music since I was born! I played this song at a friend’s wedding recently, it was really good fun. It’s one of those songs that everyone likes, Beatles fan or not.

Find Tally Spear online on her official website, Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud, and Instagram. ‘Just Don’t Know’ is out now, and available on iTunes/Apple Music, and Spotify.