Music legend Tony Christie gives update on dementia battle as he embarks on HUGE tour two years after diagnosis
MUSIC legend Tony Christie has given an update on his dementia battle as he prepares to embark on a huge tour.
Tony, 81, best known for his hit (Is This The Way To) Amarillo?, appeared on Loose Women alongside his wife Sue today, two years after going public with the diagnosis.
The singer delighted fans while revealing the disease hasn’t affected his ability to perform as he gears up for his string of gigs.
Despite his condition, Tony said he’s feeling strong as ever – and still delivering pitch-perfect performances on stage.
He said: “Working-wise, it’s not affected me at all. I go out, I sing exactly the same. I’m a different person on stage.”
Sue agreed, saying: “He’s two different people. He’s very quiet at home, but you wouldn’t know anything was wrong when he’s performing.”
The couple, who have been together for nearly 60 years, shared their enduring love story on the show.
Tony recalled locking eyes with Sue while performing at a Sheffield nightclub in the 1960s.
He smiled: “I just turned to my bass player and said, ‘Mike, I’ve just seen the girl I’m going to marry.'”
The crooner, who hails from an Irish family in County Mayo, also opened up about his love of country music – and how it’s shaped his latest album, A New Life.
He said: “I’ve always had this thing about country,” reminiscing about working with Dolly Parton’s musical director on the new record. “We had these fantastic musicians… names you’d know!”
Tony is now preparing for a three-month tour across the UK and Europe – and has become an ambassador for music and dementia awareness.
Before each show’s final song, Tony said he addresses the crowd with a powerful message.
He explained: “I tell them I have dementia. I’m not ashamed of it. If anyone out there has it, don’t be ashamed. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Off-stage, Sue admitted there are signs of forgetfulness – from repeated supermarket trips to missed items on the shopping list.
But she said they approach it with humour and grace.
Sue joked: “He asks the same questions a few times. But the humour is still very much there. He still makes us laugh every day.”
Tony first revealed he had been diagnosed with dementia in January 2023.
The hitmaker appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch and told how he had received the news the previous year.
Tony also confessed that he now has to have a screen with his lyrics displayed when performing on stage.
He told Steph McGovern: “I have to have a TV screen on stage with me with the lyrics. I don’t very often use it, it’s there just to make me feel safe.”
Despite the dementia diagnosis, Tony insisted he’s not giving up and will continue to live life to the fullest.
Is it ageing or dementia?
Dementia – the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s – comes on slowly over time.
As the disease progresses, symptoms can become more severe.
But at the beginning, the symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for normal memory issues related to ageing.
The US National Institute on Aging gives some examples of what is considered normal forgetfulness in old age, and dementia disease.
You can refer to these above.
For example, it is normal for an ageing person to forget which word to use from time-to-time, but difficulting having conversation would be more indicative of dementia.
Katie Puckering, Head of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Information Services team, previously told The Sun: “We quite commonly as humans put our car keys somewhere out of the ordinary and it takes longer for us to find them.
“As you get older, it takes longer for you to recall, or you really have to think; What was I doing? Where was I? What distracted me? Was it that I had to let the dog out? And then you find the keys by the back door.
“That process of retrieving the information is just a bit slower in people as they age.
“In dementia, someone may not be able to recall that information and what they did when they came into the house.
“What may also happen is they might put it somewhere it really doesn’t belong. For example, rather than putting the milk back in the fridge, they put the kettle in the fridge.”
He said: “I’m looking forward to working. I love working. My grandad used to say, ‘you retire, you die’ and I just said I’m not going to die. I’m going to carry on and carry on… I feel good. I can carry on forever, that’s how I feel.
It was after a discussion with his wife Sue that Tony saw a specialist.
“I said to my wife, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m starting to forget people’s names and things,’” Tony explained.
“She said, ‘Let’s go and see a specialist.’ I had all the tests and they said it’s an early start of dementia.
“They started me on these tablets which slowed it right down and it’s really slowed it down.”
Pointing to Sue, who was in the audience, Tony joked: “I can’t remember her name now.”