As we continue to profile the fine men and women entrusted with Sony Records’ musical legacy, Music For Nations’ Matt Milton comes under the Sony Spotlight…

What was the first record you ever bought?

The first album that I bought with my own money was Busted’s self-titled debut. That album was really important to me as it really made me aware of guitars – and eventually made me want to learn to play myself.

I still listen to it today, so many solid pop-rock songs!

Who is your favourite Sony artist and what is your favourite Song/Album by them?

Sony has signed so many great artists, but my all-time favourite Sony artist has to be Good Charlotte. They were part of Sony for their first 4 albums and really shaped my music tastes (they are still my favourite band of all time).

Picking a favourite album is tough; The Young and The Hopeless is still one of the most iconic pop-punk albums, so I think I’ll go with that one! Favourite song? Probably ‘Anthem’ from that album, but I also LOVE ‘Keep Your Hands Off My Girl’ from the Good Morning Revival album.

What’s the best gig you’ve been to? Or What was the first gig you went to?

The first gig I ever went to was Stereophonics at the NEC Arena in Birmingham. My Mum and Dad took me, and I’d never seen anything like it! Seeing the entire floor bouncing and then screaming the chorus of Dakota totally hooked me on live music.

The best gig I’ve been too is a tricky one, but it probably has to be Green Day at the O2 on the 21st Century Breakdown tour. They played for 3 hours and I sung every word at the top of my voice – it was the first time I left a gig with no voice!

I remember being in the seats with my Dad and watching Billie Joe jump off the stage with his guitar and run down the edge of the standing section (surrounded by about 10 security guards!) and up the stairs of the seats on the side to play a guitar solo. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, and it made me want to be in a band so badly!

What’s your favourite album?

What an impossible question! I mean, of course The Young and The Hopeless is up there, but there’s so many others. Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘City of Evil’ album is great, as is Linkin Park’s ‘Hybrid Theory’, both of which opened my eyes to heavy music.

I also want to throw in Bury Tomorrow’s ‘Earthbound’ – I don’t think that album has a bad song on it, and it’s one of the best modern UK metal albums going!

Any stories you’d like to share from your time working in music?

I’ve had some of the best experience of my life working in music, a lot of them occurring when I’ve been out on tour (some of them probably aren’t appropriate for this piece!). In May I was lucky enough to work on a tour with two bands that I listened to religiously when I was younger, so that was pretty surreal! Everyone was really nice and I’m always going to have great memories of us all hanging out.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I’ll never forget my most embarrassing on-stage moment. My band was playing our first ever sold-out headline show (it was only a 100 capacity venue but it felt like a massive occasion!). Our intro music was finishing and we ran out onstage. I jumped on to the onstage monitor and started playing the intro to the first song, but as I did so the monitor tips and I fell straight into the crowd.

So there I was, at the most important show of my life at the time, half-stuck in the crowd and accidentally whacking loads of people in the face with my guitar. Not how I wanted that show to start!