Sting and Nile Rodgers join Tony Christie on Music for Dementia campaign’s song for Thank You Day 2023
‘Thank You for Being a Friend’ by Tony Christie and friends launched today
** MEDIA CAN PREVIEW THE SONG HERE and DOWNLOAD FROM 27/06 FROM thankyouday.org.uk/music
** VIDEO HERE **
** PICTURES AND OTHER ASSETS HERE **
Thank You for Being a Friend – re-recorded by singing legend Tony Christie, who announced in January that he had been diagnosed with dementia – has today, Tuesday 27 June, been launched by the Music for Dementia campaign for Thank You Day 2023 (Sunday 2 July).
Christie has been joined by a stellar line up of singers, musicians and producers including Sting, Nile Rodgers, Graham Gouldman and Graeme Pleeth, many of whom have lost a family member to dementia. They were joined on the recording by a small orchestra from Manchester Camerata, the UKs most relentlessly pioneering orchestra and global leader in music and dementia.
The song will form the centrepiece of this year’s Thank You Day celebrations, as organisers call on the nation to do two things to celebrate the day:
Download the song at thankyouday.org.uk/music and get people together for a nationwide singalong starting at 12.55 on 2 July
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a picnic, a concert or a nature walk, this Thank You Day, get together in your communities with friends, neighbours and unsung heroes and let's say thank you, together!
Music for Dementia is leading the Thank You Day 2023 music activities and all proceeds from the single will go to The Power of Music Fund being convened by the National Academy of Social Prescribing, kickstarted by £1 million of support from The Utley Foundation.
The Power of Music Fund has already distributed £100,000 this year to dementia choirs across the UK. Round Two of the fund will launch this Autumn, supporting dementia choirs, carers groups and care home projects, among others, ultimately ensuring strong connections between the NHS and community groups to support those living with dementia.
Managing Director at Music for Dementia, Sarah Metcalfe said: “We are bowled over that Tony Christie has brought so many talented people together to sing the Thank You Day anthem and share the message that music can help people living with dementia. Sunday 2 July is going to be a real celebration, bringing communities together all over the UK. It’s so catchy that I can’t stop singing it!”
Christie, who turned 80 in April of this year, was friends with Andrew Gold who wrote and released Thank You for Being a Friend in 1978. It has been rerecorded with the blessing of the late Gold’s wife, Leslie Ann Kogan.
Five carers from around the UK were invited to the studio to sing on the song with Christie (please see notes to editors). Therese Poteratchi and Zoe Antoniades from West London, Katie Neal from Oxford, Gez Ossai from Cheltenham and Graeme Sutherland from Glasgow can be heard on backing vocals - special voices representing the community Thank You Day is focusing on.
While music is in Christie’s blood, it has been a lifeline to him and his family following his dementia diagnosis and they have all put their hearts and souls into the recording.
Christie explains: “Performing, staying positive and trying not to let dementia affect my life really lifts me so taking part in Thank You Day has been a privilege and a blessing; not just for me but for my whole family, including my wife Sue who’s behind me every step of the way. Sue supports me rather than cares for me right now, but there are millions of unseen and unsung of carers doing their thing every day and this is our way of thanking them.
“I am living proof of the power of music on people living with dementia and I fully support the Music for Dementia campaign and its work with Thank You Day. It is so special that this country has been gifted a day that connects communities with this incredible celebration of people and music.
“So get involved, learn the song, come together with someone you want to thank and let’s sing it together - thank you for being a friend.”
Sunday 2 July is the UK’s third annual Thank You Day which, in 2022, brought nine million people together as friends, families and neighbours strengthened the bonds that create kinder, more connected communities. This year, almost half a million people are set to sing Thank You for Being a Friend at festivals, street parties, care homes, community choir performances and on social media sites such as TikTok.
The music video was recorded at British Grove Studio by director, Nick Moran who helps care for his mother who is living with dementia, and features Vicky McClure and Our Dementia Choir.
Full list of people involved in the Thank You Day song and video:
Tony Christie, singer
Sting, singer, backing vocals
Nile Rodgers (Chic), guitar. Nile lost his mother to dementia in 2020
Dan Gillespie Sells (The Feeling), guitar and backing vocals
Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens, piano
Abe Laboriel Jr, drums
Manchester Camerata, 11 piece string orchestra
Graham Gouldman (10cc, Wax tracks), bass, guitar and backing vocals
Therese Poteratchi, Katie Neal, Zoe Antoniades, Gez Ossai, Graeme Sutherland – specially selected carers, backing vocals
Graeme Pleeth (long-time producer of Tony Christie), producer, string arranger, keyboards
Adam Dennis, string arranger
Nick Moran, music video director. Nick’s mother currently lives with dementia
British Grove Studios (owned by Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits)
Olga Fitzroy, tracking engineer
Robert Orton, mixer
Silva Screen, record label
Universal, distributor
-Ends-
For further information please contact:
Sam Jones or Paula Hunter from Big Bang PR on sam@bigbangpr.co.uk and 07531625233 or paula@bigbangpr.co.uk / 07739989915 / Pete Starkings at Together on media@together.org.uk and 07740 347362.
Images of from the recording and the artists can be downloaded for free from https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w29ccnqjlh7mric/AABkYXVJKOgwTYzD3aZSDH_ua?dl=0
The song can be ordered from a range of digital streaming platforms via this link: https://tonychristie.lnk.to/TYFBAF
About Music for Dementia
Music for Dementia is the Utley Foundation’s cross-sector campaign to make music an integral part of dementia care.
We already include more than 200 organisations from the NHS, care sector, third sector and music sector plus thousands of individual supporters, many with lived experience.
About the Utley Foundation
The Utley Foundation is a private charitable trust established by Neil and Nicky Utley in 2014 to deliver change in areas of charitable interest to their family. The Utley Foundation established its cross-sector Music for Dementia campaign in 2018 as part of its ambition to ensure music is made an integral part of care for all those living with dementia.
About Thank You Day
Thank You Day, now in its third year, is organised by the Together coalition, and supported by organisations like the Scouts, Guides, the NHS, Royal Voluntary Service, the Football Association, the Church of England and hundreds more. The campaign has reached 15 million people since launching in 2021. Nine million tool part in Thank You Day celebrations in 2022 alone. https://thankyouday.org.uk/
Thanks to National Lottery players, /together has received £1 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
About the carers on the track:
● Gez Ossai, 58, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Described as ‘an exceptional advocate for dementia care’, Gez Ossai is the General Manager at Wentworth Court Cheltenham, which provides specialist care for people with dementia and has helped shape social reform. Gez has been involved in many debates on broadcast, social media and at conferences, and has been heavily involved in community initiatives. His work was recognised when he met the King and Queen and he was also asked to 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister.
● Graeme Sutherland 31, from Glasgow, Scotland
Graeme Sutherland is a popular TikTok influencer and has used the platform to help carers feel less isolated and lonely. He started out on TikTok while caring for his mother who lives with dementia, but continues to make content while she is in residential care. Proving social media can be a great source for good, many people reach out to Graeme for advice on being a carer. He’s particularly excited to be involved as his mum is a fan of the original 1978 song.
● Zoe Antoniades, from West London, London
Nominated by Alzheimer’s Society, Zoe, 50, is an author but used to sing in jazz clubs and although she now cares for her mum, she has continued her passion for music by contributing to the Singing for the Brain group in Osterley. Zoe and her mum, Koula, have attended the group for over three years. She is now also an Alzheimer’s Society campaigner who also sings regularly for the group, both face-to-face and on Zoom.
● Therese Poteratchi, 29, from Baron’s Court, London
Therese Poteratchi represents Young Voices, the largest school choir in the world. Her grandmother Rosaleen lived with Alzheimer’s when Therese was a child and some of her fondest memories are visiting Rosaleen in a residential home and playing the piano or recorder to her and the other residents. Therese said: “Singing or playing music to my grandmother allowed my siblings and I to bond with her, despite her not recognising us. The experience has left us with positive memories of our grandmother and our visits and was one of the reasons that I studied music.”
● Katie Neal, 18, from Oxford
Katie Neal was chosen by the WI to appear on the single. As a child in the Brownies, the residents of the dementia-specialised care home would be so excited to have them visit, they would wait and wave through the windows. When Katie became a young leader of the same Brownies’ group, she visited every couple of months to get involved in music-led sessions that hugely uplifted residents, particularly at Christmas when many didn’t have visitors. More recently she has become a young voice within the WI.