Following his own diagnosis of the condition, singer Tony Christie is hopeful there will be a cure for dementia one day…
Tony and the Thank You For Being A Friend campaign
By Ian Woolley
The 80-year-old singer is to help raise money with a cover of Andrew Gold’s song featuring Sting and Chic’s Nile Rodgers as part of a dementia campaign on behalf of Music for Dementia.
“Thank You For Being A Friend”, recorded by American singer-songwriter Andrew Gold in 1978, was rewritten as the soundtrack to the hit TV comedy The Golden Girls.
Christie will record the song with special guests Sting and Nile Rodgers, ahead of Thank You Day in July which aims to connect the nation through communities celebrating the work of people such as unsung carers.
Christie is no stranger to supporting charity.
Back in 2005, Tony appeared and sang on Peter Kaye’s charity single for Comic Relief. The Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield song “Is This The Way To Amarillo” was a top 20 UK hit for Christie in 1971 and featured in the comedian’s TV comedy Pheonix Nights.
Tony says, “I continue to tour as I’ve found music improves the symptoms associated with my dementia, so every time I go on stage and work it’s helping me. It’s important for me to stay positive and try not to let dementia affect my life but I still need some support. If anyone deserves a thank you it’s the UK’s unseen – and unsung – army of carers. This one is for them!
“When Music for Dementia asked me to sing Thank You for Being a Friend by my old friend Andrew Gold it really felt like the stars were aligning. It is the perfect song for a day that celebrates all the good in the world and I’m so proud to be part of it.”
When asked on BBC Breakfast if he struggles to remain positive in light of his own dementia diagnosis, Christie said: “Not at the moment. No. There will be a cure eventually.
“The specialist that actually did the tests on me…
the fact that I was a singer for a living and music was forever around me. She said: ‘Music is one of the top therapies for dementia.’
All I wanted to do was sing for a living, that’s what I felt that I was put on this earth to do. And that’s what I did. I will carry on doing it, that is a threat.”
His wife Sue said members of the public have told the couple they had gone to get tested for dementia after Christie revealed his diagnosis in January.
Christie, real name Anthony Fitzgerald, also said: “I’ve been stopped so many times by different people in the shops or in the streets to thank me for going on TV and saying, you know, not to be afraid of dementia.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed about it.”
THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND will be released on 2nd July 2023. More details on the charity can be found at www.musicfordementia.org.uk #THANKYOUDAY
Read our recent interview with Tony Christie HERE which appeared in our 2019 November issue. Back copies are available from our website.