Anyone wishing to erupt in a chorus or two of Happy Birthday should do so now, as today marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of that composer par excellence of snappy little ditties, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Light the candles and cut the cake: this is a day to celebrate for, without him, life would be oh so dull.
Now those of you aware of my music collection, bulging with all things pop and devoid of selections orchestrated, most probably think these lines are being delivered with sneer on face and tongue planted firmly in cheek. Here I must point out how wrong you are.
Many is the day I awake humming a Mozart tune or two from one of his more than 600 pieces, perhaps from one of the 21 stage and opera works, 15 Masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas or 26 string quartets.
I cannot for the life of me tell you which one - I just know it is Mozart. Or perhaps Coldplay or Billy Joel - I have a bit of trouble with performers as well.
Anyway, it is irrelevant whether I am humming something from the Marriage of Figaro or Speed of Sound. The point is that if not for Mozart, the world would be musically poorer.
Take away the Austrian-born genius, and rock 'n' roll would probably never have been invented, nor disco nor, for that matter, the Sugababes.