Your top ten day centre discs

We asked you, as the care home residents and day centre users of the future, what you would like as the soundtrack to your autumn years.

Care home owners and day centre managers are reporting that Vera Lynn is out and Elvis is in as a new rock and roll generation of older people start to want their musical choices played.

But what about in 20 or 30 years time? Will the sounds of punk rock be echoing round the corridors of care homes? Maybe eventually, but in the shorter term according to visitors to communitycare.co.uk the Beatles and Dylan are more likely to find favour.

Bland will be banned, it seems. As Theresa Foley, training manager, put it “I was born in 1956 and I would like to ban Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richards, Chris DeBurgh, Sting and their ilk.”

Meanwhile social worker Karen Baird said: “I shall insist on having my musical needs recorded on my care plan and they will include: Radiohead, Prodigy…lots of trance and dance music, drum and bass and whatever gets my socks rocking in 2050.” (see below for more comments).

But now the votes are all in, your final top 10 goes something like this…

1. When I’m 64 – the Beatles
2. Jailhouse Rock – Elvis
3. Blowing in the Wind – Bob Dylan
4. We Gotta Get Out of This Place – The Animals
5. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – Ian Dury and the Blockheads
6. Another One Bites The Dust – Queen
7. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
8. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction – Rolling Stones
9. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – Wham!
10. It’s All Over Now – The Rolling Stones

A selection of some of your comments

“My choice would be anything by the master songwriter Bob Dylan,
But most appropriate for my “autumn years” would be Forever Young by Bob Dylan.”
Julie Darby, Rochdale

“I would have to have We Gotta Get Out Of This Place by the Animals and Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.”
Roy Gregory, Regulation Inspector / child of the 50’s Chippenham

“None at all please.  I love music and play the guitar and piano but please none in a care home.  I would rather have silence than have to listen to something that I do not like.  I would find that very stressful.”
Sally Faulkner, Bury

“My 84 year old mother tried a day centre and felt that the ‘Vera Lynn’ selection was ‘old people’s music’  ie. something that she associated with her parents not herself !  She asked for Morrissey and was told he was ‘too depressing’ and they didn’t believe her when she said she liked the Kaiser Chiefs and the Killers.  

“I would certainly hope that if I ever had to attend a day centre there’d be a good menu of the Clash, the Ramones, Jesus and Mary Chain, Carter USM etc, and instead of people coming in to do knitting demonstrations they could have Attila the Stockbroker doing a workshop on ranting poetry for octogenarians (although he’d be into his nineties I guess by the time I get there). And instead of holidays to Skegness they could do punk festivals in Amsterdam or following a New Model Army tour.  The zimmer frames might get in the way in the mosh pit, but then NMA would have them too by then…I think more people should be allowed to grow old disgracefully!”
Julie Hatton, Wolverhampton

“I wasn’t born in the 70’s although my choice is from the 80’s and I hope its a long while before I ever have to refuse to go into a care home!!!. It would have to be You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party by the Beastie Boys.”
Jenny Brooks, social worker, Somerset

“I was born in the 40s and would want the Everley Bros, Pat Boone (oohhhhh), Beach Boys, The Carpenters (very soothing), Elvis, Chris Barber, Kenny Baker, Acker Bilk.  You can book me in.”
Pauline Barnett, Salford

“I was born in 1971 – a fraction outside of the 60s… thought I would add my two-pennies worth anyhow! My preferred music would be anything by any of the following: Nine Inch Nails ,Queens of the Stone Age ,Muse ,Placebo ,Rammstein, Tool, Gary Numan ,Korn ,A Perfect Circle ,Lacuna Coil ,Depeche Mode , David Bowie , Rufus Wainwright , Joshua Radin , Schyler Fisk , Reef , The Ramones , AC/DC , Pink Floyd,The Clash ,The Sex Pistols , Static X Probably loads more, but I have to get on with some work now!”
Toni Wales , social work assistant, Kent

“I often talk about this with my colleagues!
My list would probably be (I was born in 1954):
Who wants to live forever – Queen
The boys are back in town – Thin Lizzy
Yesterday – The Beatles
Anything by the Drum Corps of the Royal Marine Band
Lets get this party started – Pink or Shirley Bassey
Sk8ter boy – Avril Lavigne
Albatross – Fleetwood Mac
Substitute – Who (“I look pretty young but I’m just backdated”)
Romeo & Juliet – Dire Straits (who can better the line “all I did was kiss you through the bars of a rhyme”??)”
Moira Taylor, Dumfries

“I absolutely agree that us ‘bulge’ babies need sounds that are contemporary to us. Here is my choice;
House of the rising sun – The Animals
River deep, mountain high – Ike and Tina Turner
Another one bites the dust – Queen
I saw her standing there – The Beatles
Roll over Beethoven – Beatles
Another brick in the wall – Pink Floyd
It’s all over now – Rolling stones
Honky tonk woman – Rolling stones
Dancing in the street – Martha and the Vandellas
And then he kissed me – The Crystals
And of course, anything by Elvis”
Nadia Graham, Bexhill

“Sex and Drugs and Rock N’ Roll (of course!!!) Ian Dury and the Blockheads Then
Walkin’ the Dog – Rufus Thomas
Good Vibrations (or maybe Surfin’ Safari)  – Beach Boys
Cant Buy me love/Taxman/Strawberry fields/Norweign Wood/Money – Beatles
Hey Mr Tambourine Man – Byrds
Masters of War – Bob Dylan
Tous Les Garcons et Les Filles – Francoise Hardy
London’s Burning – Clash
Jailhouse Rock – Elvis
Union City Blues – Blondie
And a very close 11th –  Crossroads – Cream
(from a 60’s teenager – obviously!)
Teresa Lipson, Sussex

“I would like to listen to Indian Classical Music.”
Tsuneyo Kuwabaraa

“I was born in 1964. My choice of music would be Marilyn Manson, e.g The Beautiful People.
SlipKnot – Duality
Lots and lots of Pearl Jam songs
Soundgarden
Nirvana
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
I could go on, as long as its heavy metal/rock it will be okay with me, but they might need to play it loud so I can hear it.  I would hope to have an Ipod anyway.”
Julie Harvey, social worker

“They’re coming to take me away ha-haaa! – Napoleon XIV
Why does it hurt when I pee? – Frank Zappa
Can’t sleep, clowns will eat me – Alice Cooper
I wanna find a woman that’ll hold my big toe till I have to go – Captain Beefheart
I keep forgetting – David Bowie
Looks like I’m up shit creek again – Tom Waits
Dazed and confused – Led Zeppelin
Unsightly and serene – Crispy Ambulance
Life’s what’s killing me – The Fixx
Aliens ate my Buick – Thomas Dolby
What a fun thing to think about. I’ve always dreaded the idea of going into residential care; but maybe it won’t be so bad after all! Thanks for the laugh”
Julie Shackson

“I retire at the beginning of December, you may call me lucky or foolish as I will only be 60.  I would certainly welcome noise cancellation headphones in an attempt to block out the noise of care staff telling me all the things I should not be doing, whether it’s picking my nose, going outside for a walk if I should still be so lucky or getting myself a hot drink when I want one.  I have no ides if these devices do such a thing by themselves, but if I am listening to my back catalogue of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Queen, Free, Led Zeppelin etc I estimate they would need to shout at 140 decibels to get through my form of mood music.”
Nic Wooley, Barnsley