The brothers behind one of Scotland's best-loved bands have spoken for the first time of losing their mum to dementia. Bluebells siblings Ken and David McCluskey, whose 1984 classic Young At Heart was a No1 hit, revealed when she first started to show signs of the disease in her 90s they fought the memory loss with the gift she had given them – music.
Ken, frontman of the legendary Glasgow pop outfit, said: “Our parents were real folkies. They would have these parties singing Neil Young or Bob Dylan, the Dubliners, Kris Kristofferson, Christy Moore or Luke Kelly.
“Everybody had to do a turn at the family parties. She played harmonica too, my mum, she could hold her own at those parties. So we remembered songs she sang at those parties.”
Diagnosis and Early Signs
Mother-of-five Teresa was 93 when she was diagnosed with dementia and lived with the disease until her death at 96 earlier this summer. At her funeral reception, David pulled together a 60-song playlist for the background music. But the family had reached for music long before Teresa's passing.
Having been introduced to the power of meaningful music and the transformational effects it can have on the lives of people living with dementia, and for those caring for those with the illness, they set about composing playlists for their mum when she was first diagnosed. These tunes would prove important as the family dealt with the progress of Teresa's condition.
Ken said: “The TV presenter Sally Magnusson introduced us to Playlist for Life, the charity she set up after using music and playlists with her mother when she had dementia.
“At first it was very subtle. But eventually it was getting to the stage where she wasn't safe in her own house, she was going out walking with the zimmer and the nightdress during the night. So we had to find her a place where she could be cared for.” The family had begun building their playlist when Teresa downsized into a smaller home, still living independently.
Impact of Music in Care
But it was during visits to see their mother in care that the significance of using music to access memories, which the family could remember with her, really came into focus.
Ken added: “She had quite an eclectic taste. There would be European artists like Demis Roussos and Nana Mouskouri. Something a bit continental, something a wee bit different.
“My parents weren't into Sinatra and Elvis, like many people were at the time, they were more into music from the American west coast like Kris Kristofferson, Crosby, Stills and Nash. They introduced us to a lot of music and this felt like returning the favour. It's reminding her of the songs they gave us.”
He added: “As time went on in the home, you could see her losing the will to communicate. But as soon as she heard the music, her head and her neck would straighten up, and you could see she was tuning into something. By that time she didn't really know who we were, but it was about giving her the music, a nice memory, seeing that smile on her face. It means there's some sort of quality of life.”
Research and National Playlist Day
Research into the impact music has had on those living with dementia has thrown up striking results. A study by an NHS Fife team, trained by Playlist for Life, found 80 per cent of participants required less medication to manage stress and distress after using personal playlists. An eight-week trial of 28 dementia patients on NHS Fife A&E wards showed 96 per cent of patients displayed less stress and agitation during clinical procedures after using personal music systems.
Magnusson's charity Playlist for Life has more than 2600 community help points across the UK, giving advice on how to build personal playlists with at least 130,000 families believed to have used the resource. On Friday this week, Playlist for Life will spearhead National Playlist Day, inviting people to build and share their own tunes to raise awareness of the power of music for dementia.
Ken said: “Sometimes you feel like there's no communication at all and that can be a really sad thing. So it's good to be able to tap in with the music. It's like throwing a rope in.”
He and his band, including brother David and Bobby Bluebell, released their latest album, No Pasaran!, earlier this year, landing them a No1 in the Scottish charts. And later this month, Ken will feature at Rip It Up, an arts festival in Glasgow's Pyramid, featuring music, film and photography across the September weekend. The band will also play on October 25 at Strathaven Hotel in support of Down's Syndrome Scotland.
To get involved in National Playlist Day on Friday, visit nationalplaylistday.org and for more information on Playlist for Life visit playlistforlife.org.uk.
