In an "Honest Playlist" feature for the Guardian, singer and actor Elaine Paige shares the songs that have shaped her life and career, timed to the release of her new album, Miscellaneous Paige. She reflects on formative musical moments from childhood to the present, including her enduring love of the Police despite a career built largely on musical theatre and classic crooners.

Among her picks, she names All I Have to Do Is Dream by the Everly Brothers as the first song she fell in love with, Perry Como's Magic Moments as her first record purchase, and Roxanne by the Police as her favourite party song. She credits Don't Cry for Me Argentina, from her breakout role in Evita, as the song that changed her life, and recalls being thrust into the lead role in Hair in 1968 at short notice. She also touches on personal associations, such as Cole Porter's Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye reminding her of her late mother, and suggests George Michael's cover of The Long and Winding Road for her own funeral.