West Bromwich's Sian Reeves hosts radio sing-a-long with Tony Christie for Care Home Open Week
West Bromwich born TV actress Sian Reeves - best known for Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Cutting It – is hosting a special radio Singalong Show designed to get care homes across the UK singing together to improve their health and wellbeing.
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The one-off, 40 minutes Singalong Show is made by specialist radio station, m4dRdadio.com, which provides ad-free music of different genres to support people living with dementia and their carers.
It will run three times per day during Care Home Open Week at 10.30am, 2pm and 7pm on m4dRadio.com’s Mix Channel, giving care homes and people listening at home plenty of opportunity to join in the fun. Song sheets can be downloaded in advance from Music for Dementia’s website, musicfordementia.org.uk.
Care Home Open Week is a nationwide initiative running June 16-22 that sees over 5,000 care homes across the UK open their doors and encourage the public to pop in to experience what warm and friendly spaces care homes are. This year’s open week is partnering with the Music for Dementia campaign on a ‘power of music’ theme.
The Singalong Show was recorded back in April at Steelworks Studio in Bakewell where Sian was joined by singing legend Tony Christie, the Bakewell and District Community Choir. They sang a range of well-loved classics together, designed to get everyone joining in at home and in their care homes.
Sian says: “I was absolutely delighted when Music for Dementia invited me to host their Singalong Show for Care Home Open Week. I’ve been visiting lots of care homes to sing to residents over the past year, but this radio format is a great way to reach many more people.
“I’m really passionate about getting everyone to sing. I think it heals minds, feel great and helps with speech as you get older. We’ve put in some really fun songs and also so TV jingles, which will bring back lots of memories. I really hope people have as much time singing along as we had recording it.”
Tony Christie announced in 2023 he has dementia, and soon after became an ambassador for the Music for Dementia campaign, releasing a charity single for them in July 2023 and supporting their recent Give It A Go campaign. Tony hasn’t let the condition impact his singing career and released a new album earlier this year.
Tony says: “I had such fun being part of The Singalong Show. What a great initiative! Singing has definitely supported my health, so I encourage as many people as possible to tune in and join in.”
Sarah Metcalfe, MD At Music for Dementia says: “If you’re looking after someone with dementia music can be a really useful tool to help. It can raise your spirits when things look bleak, it can manage stress and agitation, it can spark memories and create moments of joy. Singing is one of the easiest ways to use music – you don’t have to have a voice as smooth as Sian or Tony’s, all singing helps even if it’s TV advert jingles or football chants.”
