(Is This The Way To) Amarillo singer Tony Christie has said doctors told him that his singing career would help to ease the impact of his dementia.
The 83-year-old star revealed he had been diagnosed with the condition in 2023 and told the Press Association that he had planned to retire after his Great Farewell Tour which ends in May next year, but said that since it was announced he has had “three years of bookings”.
Christie said: “When I went to the doctors with all the problems I was having, he said, ‘you’re very lucky, you’re in the music business, because music is one of the things that we recommend for people having a dementia problem, we tell them to listen to music’.
“And I said, ‘well, I don’t (just) listen, I listen to it and I sing it, so it’s my life’, and he says, ‘well, you’re very fortunate’.”
It comes after Christie was a surprise guest at a party for the DAB launch of m4dRADIO in south and west London.
The radio station is run by Music For Dementia, a charity the singer is an ambassador for, which aims to help those living with dementia and their carers.
He said that music helped dementia sufferers to stay “connected to who you are now” as well as their past.
Christie performed his best known song (Is This The Way To) Amarillo at the event, a track he says he never tires of performing, adding that it brings back memories of the early 1970s, the time it was released.
He added: “It’s one of the best songs ever written for me, I never get sick of it, it’s one of those things, and I don’t go, ‘oh, I’ve got to sing that song’, I go, ‘yes, I’ve got to sing that song’.
“It’s a great song and I love it.
“Good god, it’s a long time (since its release), isn’t it? And I mean, it was written for me and sent to me by Neil Sedaka, who I met several times because he was also doing work over here for my manager in Manchester.
“My manager was from Manchester, and we had the same management, and we met and got on very, very well, and he came up with this song for me.
“He says, ‘I’ve got a great song that you could sing’, and that was it. That was 1971, I think.”
m4dRADIO can be heard on DAB radio across south and west London as well as online m4dRADIO.com, and is on air 24 hours a day.
