Dementia care to benefit from charity single 'Glue'

MHA is working in partnership with Stratford-upon-Avon based folk band The Occasional Orchestra to raise awareness of their song, Glue, which has been selected by the charity as their official single to help raise essential to provide music therapy in dementia care.

Glue tells the story of Stan Grimmett, who died after a battle with vascular dementia, and the life he lived with his wife, Ruth. The song and accompanying video give a glimpse into their love story and paint an emotional picture of how dementia can impact an entire family.

Lead singer of The Occasional Orchestra Darrell Mitchell, said: “Shortly before Stan died, although he couldn’t say the words, he was still able to let Ruth know that she had been the love of his life. It occurred to me that Ruth had been the glue, holding him on.

“Stan was my father-in-law. I wrote the song after reflecting on how Stan’s illness affected him and those around him, and how millions of others experience similar feelings of confusion and loss. Mostly though, it’s an old-fashioned love story between Stan and his wife, Ruth.”

Following his death, Stan’s family contacted MHA in the hope of raising money for music therapy, a clinical therapy offered across MHA dementia care homes. Music therapy helps to alleviate some of the symptoms of dementia. It gives people living with the condition a chance to unlock special memories and express emotions and feelings that other forms of communication cannot, even if the individual is no longer able to speak or respond to other people’s words.

Senior government officials have stated that more needs to be done to make music therapy more widely available than it currently is. MHA has been providing clinical music therapy for 10 years, but this is only made possible through fundraising initiatives. 

Download, stream and donate

Money will be raised through downloads and streams of Glue from the following sites: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Amazon.

To learn more about Glue and make a donation towards our music therapy appeal, please visit: www.BestForAges.com/Glue