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Scottish First Minister and stars share their playlists
John Swinney, Sir Ian Rankin and Sir Alex Ferguson are among the famous Scots who have shared the songs from their personalised playlists as part of a campaign by The Sunday Post to tackle loneliness and isolation.
The Scottish newspaper launched ‘Big Braw Community’ in collaboration with Age Scotland and called upon Playlist for Life to help create the ‘Big Braw Playlist’ to get the country singing.
The campaign’s goal is to combat chronic loneliness which affects 1 in 10 people in Scotland. The power of meaningful music for dementia, which affects 90,000 people in Scotland has also been highlighted by The Sunday Post.
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, has shared songs from his personal playlist to inspire others to think about the tracks that are important to them, and to make a playlist for themselves or a loved one living with dementia.
John Swinney’s playlist:
Going Underground – The Jam
“This track by my all-time favourite band was released in 1980 when I was 16[…] It was an epic track and I must have really annoyed my parents by the number of times I played it at home.”
Going Home – Runrig
“This song always makes me feel at peace and so close to Scotland.”
Let’s Start a Band – Amy MacDonald
“Amy is a fabulous singer and this is such a joyful anthem full of hope and creativity.”
Others who have shared songs from their playlist include writer Sir Ian Rankin, actors Colin McCredie, Jane McCarry, Garry Hollywood and Sally Howitt.
Earlier this year, Sir Alex Ferguson shared the tracks that have soundtracked his life for National Playlist Day.
The Scottish Minister for Wellbeing, Maree Todd, also supported the National Playlist Day campaign, saying:
“I know, as a mental health pharmacist, that music as medicine can be a powerful intervention, in particular for people experiencing distress and anxiety.”
Why make a playlist?
Michael Timmons, Executive Director at Playlist for Life, shares the benefits of playlists:
“For people living with dementia, listening to a personalised playlist is more than just a nice thing to do. Over two decades of research shows that listening to personally meaningful music can improve the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia by reducing some of the more distressing symptoms and helping people connect.”
“Personalised playlists can be just as valuable for carers as they are for the person they are caring for. We know that caring for a loved one with dementia can be challenging and impact your own wellbeing, and at times make you feel lonely or isolated. Music can be a powerful tool to ease some pressure to enable you to take time for yourself.”
How to make a playlist
Making a playlist is easy. We have lots of free resources to help you get started on our free resources page. Or why not try our Playlist Maker?
