Reading on mobile? Click the links in the headings to see the videos.  In an episode of The Office entitled Training, David Brent seizes an employee-training seminar as the perfect opportunity to show his co-workers that his talents extend much further than the confines of Wernham-Hogg. Unleashing a musical tirade on his staff via an acoustic guitar ("he went home to get it", Tim bemusedly says to the camera) the medley's highlight is Free Love Freeway – a song that appears to be written from the perspective of a lothario cowboy who drives down the freeway stopping off to service women's cars, which may or may not be a metaphor for sexual intercourse.  This clip from the Office Christmas special isn't online, but the blooper version should more than suffice, if only so you can see the stocky little man cackling through a soft-focus lens. Covering Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' drivetime classic, the song reveals a different side to Brent's musical leanings: gone is the righteous acoustic balladary and in its place an uncomfortably intense, sensual declaration of heartache. Grim.  We first heard this track during the Training episode, but it was recreated for his Learn Guitar With David Brent series. In the original version, Spaceman Came Down's tale of racial equality is made all the more cripplingly embarrassing for his colleagues by the unexpectedly loud volume of his vocals, a method he's adopted to truly evoke the song's vehemently political message.  Ten years after the original mockumentary crew entered The Office, David Brent appeared on Comic Relief with a series of comedy skits based around the character's life in 2013. Although now a cleaning salesman, his aspirations to work in the music industry are as desperately potent as ever. This reggae song includes typically misguided lyrics such as "Dayo dayo me say dayo/Biddly biddly biddly bong, yo" and also features the character Dom Johnson, a young rapper who decides to collaborate with Brent for the singular reason that he will fund his studio time.  Another gem taken from Learn Guitar With David Brent, the dusty, Dire Straits Americana of Oh La La adopts the creepy highway lothario narrative of Free Love... and includes the confused image of a man smoking a cigar in the desert sun. The chorus is a Chris Martin-on-backing-vocals, stadium singalong in the making.  Have we missed any of your favourites? Will he perform anything by Des'ree? What covers do you think he should try? Let us know below
As Ricky Gervais's famous Office manager prepares for his big stage debut this month, we look back at the very best musical renditions from the world's most wince-inducing boss