Singer Tony Christie has been speaking recently of his positive approach to life following his dementia diagnosis. He decided to keep on touring and making records. Tony is best known for his big hit in 1971, “Is This the Way to Amarillo”.
He believes that music can bring people back to the here and now.
Christie spoke about his dementia diagnosis on a recent The Late Late Show on RTE.
“I’ve been a crossword fanatic all my life and suddenly I started having problems. So, I said to my wife, ‘What’s happening? I keep forgetting things.”
After the diagnosis, he was put on medication. “They put me on these very strong tablets which have kept it down.” His musical career also helps. “Music is one thing that’s good for anyone with dementia.”
Raising Awareness
He has released a recording of the Andrew Gold song, “Thank You For Being A Friend”, along with guests, including Sting, as a thank you to carers and to highlight the work of the support organizations working in this area.
Other music stars who had dementia
Other famous singers, like Tony Bennett, had Alzheimer’s disease, but continued to work, including recording an album with Lady Gaga. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.
Glen Campbell was another who had dementia, and he struggled with it for six months before he died in 2017. He made an interesting documentary about this called “Glen Campbell, I’ll be Me”, which shows him dealing with the illness as he embarked on a final tour, which was a great success.
One of Glen’s stage managers, Bill MacClay, said,
“I thought this tour was going to be people coming to watch a NASCAR race looking for the crashes.”
And in fact, he said,
“I couldn’t have been farther from reality. The fans came: They loved him. They knew this was going to be the last time they’d see Glen Campbell, and they didn’t care if he messed up. If he sang the same song twice or had to stop in the middle of the song — didn’t matter. They were there to hear and support Glen Campbell.”
Stark Facts
His decision to go public along with Tony Christie was in my opinion brave and may have helped other people to be more open about dealing with dementia and look for help and support. Research shows there are more than 944,000 people in the UK who have dementia. One in eleven people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK.
The worldwide figure for dementia is more than 55 million and rising.
Read more about Dementia at the NHS
Early Warning Signs
These include:
- Memory loss.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping.
- Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word.
- Being confused about time and place.
- Mood changes.
There is no cure for dementia yet. However, with the right care and support, someone can live as well as possible for as long as possible.
