Tony Christie, 79, has disclosed that he has been diagnosed with dementia.
Tony, best known for his song “Is This The Way To Amarillo,” found out 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.’
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.’
‘I notice a lot of people use it,’ he added, saying other acts have similar screens during performances.
In other news, Tony said that he’s ‘looking forward to working’ as he approaches his 80th birthday.
He said: ‘I love working. My grandad used to say, “you retire, you die” and I just said I’m not going to die.
‘I’m going to carry on and carry on… I feel good. I can carry on forever, that’s how I feel.’
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4 and All 4.
