The Payment Expert Encore provides an opportunity for the payments industry to take the stage and share with us the soundtrack that took them to where they are today.
In the latest edition, we spoke to Matt Davies, SEON CMO, who discusses Ghostbusters themed dance offs and why you can’t beat Michael Buble.
What was your first ever gig, and what was it like?
A-ha, 1987, Birmingham NEC. I once won a “best outfit” award at a school disco for dressing like Morten Harket (the lead singer) so it was pretty great. Great concert – The Sun Always Shines on NEC! Incidentally I won second prize for the Ghostbusters theme tune dance-off at the same school disco.
Best performance you have ever seen live, and why was it so good?
A very little known singer, Peyton, who released a lot of dance music in the 2000s. It was in a nightclub in Southampton with the DJ, Peyton singing and also live musicians. Just captured the mood of everyone in the club incredibly well in some heady summer months.
Artist who can do no wrong in your eyes and why?
I’d like to say something cool and sophisticated but you’d have to say someone like Ed Sheeran or Michael Buble (very different I know) but they found their niche, don’t take themselves too seriously and their albums tend to be “events”. They seem to genuinely stay connected to their audience, seem down to earth and don’t seem to be prima donnas.
Most cherished album and why?
Embarrassing to say but after this summer – the Top Gun soundtrack seems to have made a resurgence. Less embarrassing, perhaps, would be Lenny Kravitz’s Let Love Rule.
Song that gets you up in the morning? Why does it fill you with the energy you need to face the day?
Hard To Handle by The Black Crowes – read into that what you will!
The song that always makes your gym playlist? What are you usually doing in the gym when you listen to this?
Rocking Music by Martin Solveig. Usually picking something up and putting it down again or counting down the seconds on an 8k row on a Concept 2. Both result in my face turning a strange shade of red.
The Artist or Song that takes your mind off work? Why have you chosen this artist and genre?
Jack Savoretti or Ludovico Einaudi – just because they have a different pace and give me room for my mind to wander.
Musician you’d love to go on a night out with? Where would you take them?
Lenny Kravitz (probably because it would instantly make me 100% cooler than I actually am) and Kylie Minogue (just because it’s Kylie Minogue).
They’d have some amazing stories and you’d hope it would end up with an impromptu duet that the world needs to hear. You’d have to do The Bar at The Dorchester, jump on Lenny’s private jet, fly to New York and there’s a little bar called The Campbell built into the entrance of Grand Central Station. We’d need to find a guitar or piano at some point during the night.
