Stratford musician pens song to highlight the issue of loneliness for older people at Christmas
CHRISTMAS is the best time for a family get-together – but according to leading charity Age UK, 1.3 million older people will be spending the festive period alone.
And to highlight this issue, Stratford musician Nick Gough has written and recorded a Christmas song that he hopes will get people thinking.
The 58-year-old – who grew up in Bramhall, Stockport, before moving to town at the age of 21 – told the Herald that the idea to write Alone for Christmas came about two years ago when he was looking into various news reports on loneliness among older people.
Nick, who has had a passion for music since he was eight years old, said that the song, which lasts four minutes and 50 seconds, was composed in a couple of days but took around three weeks to record in his garage studio at home.
But why has it been released now? “I decided the first time it needed a bit more work. This year I listened to it again and thought that I would finish it,” explained the father-of-three who forms part of Stratford-based rock and pop covers band Three’s A Crowd alongside Suzi Kelly and Jonathan Price.
“With everything that’s going on in the world, older people are getting left behind and it should not be like that.
"This is something that does not sit well with me, everyone needs someone for Christmas, so that’s why I decided to write the song.
“It’s very sad knowing that there are people out there who are not as lucky as most people to have some company at Christmas.”
He added: “It’s nice to see local people in the community, though, doing their bit to help those who are lonely at this time of year.
“The plan for next year is to give the song a proper music video. I want to get all those people who are playing their part in helping older people together and highlight what they are doing.”
Latest figures from Age UK show that loneliness among older people is an issue that happens all year round, with 49 per cent of those surveyed saying they relied on television or radio for company.
On a brighter note, the charity’s research also found that five million older people say a phone call from a friend or loved one would help them this Christmas and nearly the same proportion (4.9 million) said someone coming to visit them, or being visited by a friend or loved one, would help them.
Age UK is encouraging everyone to check in with an older person during the festive period, whether that’s over the phone, popping in for a cup of tea, or even offering to lend a hand by running some errands.
Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: “Unfortunately, we know that even in the best of years Christmas can be a lonely time for significant numbers of older people, especially if they live alone and have no friends or family nearby.
“This year, though, it looks like many more will experience a lonely Christmas time and a deeply worrying one too if they are struggling to make ends meet.
“That’s why Age UK is calling on the public to be a good friend to the older people in their lives, and to donate to our charity so we can support those who are alone and with no one to turn to.”
Alone for Christmas can be found on YouTube and Nick hopes to have it included on Spotify very soon.
To listen to more of Nick’s music and his albums Anything Goes and Life By the Skin of My Teeth, head over to Spotify.
