Tony Christie, 79, reveals he has been diagnosed with dementia and is taking medication to slow it down

Singer Tony Christie has revealed that he has been diagnosed with dementia.

During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, the singer, 79, told Steph McGovern that he received the news last year.

Tony told his 73-year-old wife Sue that he had been having trouble remembering people’s names and other information, and she encouraged him to check it out.

He explained: “I told my wife, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m starting to forget the names of people and things.'”

She said, “We’re going to see a specialist.” I’ve had all the tests done and they said it’s an early onset of dementia.

“They started me on these tablets that slowed him down and really slowed him down.”

Joking, Tony added, “I don’t remember her name right now,” pointing to Sue.

Explaining how he has adjusted since being diagnosed, he said: ‘I have to have a TV screen on stage with me with the lyrics.

He added: “I don’t use it very often, it’s just there to make me feel safe.”

Elsewhere in the chat, Steph asked what Tony is most looking forward to before his 80th birthday.

He said: ‘I really want to work. I love working. My grandfather used to say, ‘you retire, you die’ and I just said that I’m not going to die.

‘I’m going to go on and on… I feel good. I can go on forever, that’s how I feel.

It comes after Tony revealed that he was concerned he was developing dementia after noticing his memory worsening in 2019.

The (Is This The Way To) Amarillo star said that despite performing the same songs for 50 years, now he needs the lyrics in an autocue.

Although he is currently on tour in Germany, Tony said he will be checked when he returns to the UK, although he would prefer not to know if he has the condition.

Tony told the Mirror: ‘I have noticed for some years now that my memory has worsened, which is a serious concern, especially since there is a history of dementia in my family.

“It’s gotten to the point where I have to have the lyrics to every song I perform live written in autocue, and most of them I’ve been singing for half a century.”

However, the star tried to stay positive, adding, “If it’s bad news, I expect jokes from people saying they always suspected it, since I clearly still don’t know my way to Amarillo 48 years after that song.” first a hit

Tony also revealed that he had to write down the names of his bandmates to ensure he didn’t misrepresent them on stage.

And at a recent concert in Germany, the I Did What I Did For Maria singer got the wrong city, thinking he was in Hamburg when he was actually in Leipzig.

Tony explained that although he tried to make a joke, the moment was “not really a laughing matter for me.”

He also had trouble remembering things while writing the autobiography The Song Interpreter and had to ask Sue, his wife of 51 years, for help.

Tony also revealed how he met his wife when she was standing in front of the audience while he was onstage singing in 1967.

Tony explained how he knew right away that he wanted to marry her, but his father wasn’t so convinced.

He said in his autobiography: ‘My dad was a little worried that everything was going to be like a whirlwind. He said, “Tony, you don’t marry a girl just because she has great legs.”

‘Well, she still has great legs, but what I thought was, “Why are you looking at my girlfriend’s legs?” ‘

Although Tony’s hits included Las Vegas and I Did What I Did for Maria, Amarillo it was his first song to sell a million copies.

The catchy tune was a hit again when in 2005 Peter Kay used it for a Comic Relief video.

Originally, Tony was going to star in the number with Peter Kay, but his involvement was scaled back until he was cut from the filming schedule entirely.

Only an irate phone call from his manager son, Sean, threatening to withhold permission to use the song, got him reinstated. . . for just 14 seconds of footage.