Entertainment
Tony Christie confirms dementia diagnosis but vows: ‘I’m going to carry on’-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro
Tony revealed he was diagnosed last year.
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Singer Tony Christie has revealed he has been diagnosed with dementia, aged 79.
Tony, best known for singing Is This The Way To Amarillo, received the news last year.
Opening up on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch on Thursday, Tony said: ‘I said to my wife, “Sue, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m starting to forget people’s names and things.”
‘She said, “Let’s go and see a specialist.”
‘I had all the tests and they said it’s an early start of dementia.
‘Then they started me on these tablets which slowed it right down and it’s really slowed it down.’
Tony appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Thursday where he revealed the news (Picture: Channel 4)
He jokingly added, pointing to his wife Sue: ‘I can’t remember her name now.’
Explaining how’s he adapted since receiving the diagnosis, he continued: ‘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.’
Tony shared that he now has a TV screen on stage to help him with lyrics (Picture: Gerald Matzka/WireImage)
‘I notice a lot of people use it,’ he added, saying other acts have similar screens during performances.
Elsewhere, ahead of celebrating his 80th birthday, Tony inspirationally shared that he’s ‘looking forward to working’.
He said: ‘I love working. My grandad used to say, “you retire, you die” and I just said I’m not going to die.
Tony joked about forgetting his wife Sue’s name (Picture: Gerald Matzka/WireImage)
‘I’m going to carry on and carry on… I feel good. I can carry on forever, that’s how I feel.’
The news follows Tony sharing his concerns for developing dementia in 2019.
He said to The Mirror at the time: ‘I’ve noticed for a few years now that my memory has been getting worse, which is a serious concern especially as there’s history of dementia in my family.
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‘It’s got to the point where I have to have the lyrics to all the songs I perform live written on autocue, and most of them I’ve been singing for half a century.’
At the time, he said he would ‘rather not know’ if he had dementia, remaining positive as he added to the publication: ‘If it is bad news I’m expecting jokes from people saying they always suspected as much, seeing as I clearly still don’t know the way to Amarillo 48 years after that song was first a hit.’
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4 and All 4.
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