BRITAIN GOES ZIMTASTIC!
BY Richard Woods
The Sunday Times
June 3, 2007
Original LinkSitting with a cup of tea in the front room of her former council house, Dolores Murray doesn’t act like a rock goddess storming up the charts.
“Go on, have a nice piece of cake,” she suggests as she settles down to discuss the sudden fame of her band,
the Zimmers. Some pop stars demand champagne and sushi; here it’s sticky buns and a bit of Battenberg.
But then the Zimmers are no ordinary gig. Dolores, a vocalist, is one of the young guns of the group. She’s 64. Grace Cook, a wild woman with a guitar, is 83. As for the lead singer, Alf Caretta, he’s 90.
“Ooh, Alf, he’s lovely,” coos Dolores. They share a passion for bingo. And Alf has fewer wrinkles than Mick Jagger.
From nowhere they and the other 35-odd members of the Zimmers shot into the charts last week with a cover version of the Who’s My Generation. Yesterday the single was close to breaking into the top 20.
A video of their performance has been watched by more than 2.3m people
on YouTube. About 100m people in 50 countries have seen clips of the band on television.
On Tuesday Alf and several other “senior citizens” of the Zimmers will appear on the primetime Tonight show in America, hosted by Jay Leno. George Clooney is also scheduled to appear.
In an industry obsessed by youth, beauty and personal excess, the Zimmers are one of the strangest phenomenons -- and the ultimate rebels. Have they had any problems with drugs? Grace starts telling me about her arthritis and the difficulty of controlling the pain.
No, I mean cannabis, skunk, weed, that sort of thing? Sylvia laughs at the very idea. Okay, what about alcohol? Are they tempted to follow the Amy Winehouse school of going out on the lash?
“We don’t drink,” says Sylvia, another Zimmer singer and Dolores’s sister. She’s 65 and a mother of seven.
In fact Dolores has been known to enjoy the occasional vermouth. So surely, if this is a rock band, hasn’t someone been in rehab or at least been thinking about it? Nope. Forget celebrity detoxing in the Priory; what concerns the Zimmers is the more pervasive and important problem of ordinary care and respect for the elderly.
Some of the band live in old people’s homes or rely on carers to look after them; they exist in a world all too often overlooked by younger generations.
“This country doesn’t look after the elderly,” says Sylvia. “We’ve got to do something. It’s not fair.”
Dolores adds: “We got up there to show the country we are still alive and there are still things we can do. Who would have thought pensioners could get a record out.”
Inspiring as it is, the Zimmers have done more than that. They have shone a light on the plight, and the potential, of millions. They have shown how ageism is rife -- some radio stations are still refusing to play the song because the band are too old -- but they have also shown that the elderly can also have power, purpose and cultural impact in the internet age.
When Pete Townshend wrote My Generation, with its lines “Things they do look awful c-c-cold / Hope I die before I get old”, he wasn’t referring to winter fuel allowance. He was expressing his frustration that the old didn’t understand the young. It was 1965 and the older generation had grown up before sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Men could expect barely 10 years of retirement before they died.
Now the older generation includes those who absorbed the 1950s and 1960s social revolution. They may look forward to 20 years of retirement, and some stay fit and active into their seventies or more. Last week a 71-year-old Japanese man climbed Everest; last year pensioner George Hodgson went “wing walking” on a plane over Aberdeen and made a parachute jump. He was 83.
More than 9.5m people in the UK are now aged 65 and over, including 4.5m aged 75 or more. More than 1.1m are aged 85 and over.
It’s the old, not the young, who now feel misunderstood and marginalised. So a BBC journalist called Tim Samuels decided to make a programme about their plight and among those he alighted upon were Dolores and Sylvia from Islington, north London. They were up in arms because their local Mecca bingo club, around which their social life revolved, was closing.
Samuels first took some of the pensioners to the company’s headquarters where they protested by playing bingo in the foyer. It was a sit-down protest, of course, because some of them can’t stand for long.
Samuels then had a brain-wave: could his neglected pensioners make a record and get it into the charts? It was a risky ploy: some of the oldies nearly died laughing at the idea. When they had recovered, Samuels teamed up with Neil Reed, co-founder of a record label called X-Phonics, to see if it could be done.
“When we presented it to the music industry, they all ran a mile,” recalled Reed. “But we stuck at it.” At the end of February they assembled 40 pensioners in Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded many of their greatest hits.
Some bands spend months closeted in the recording studio; the Zimmers spent four hours -- they were getting tired after that.
Alf, one of Dolores’s bingo group, emerged as the lead singer, letting slip a grin as he sang “hope I die before I get old”.
He wasn’t the oldest, however. That accolade goes to either Winifred Warburton, who is 99, or Buster Martin, who looks like an ancestor of ZZ Top and claims to be 100, though nobody is sure when he was born.
Were there musical differences or clashes of ego? “Oh no, we all got on very well,” said Grace. “We’re old school.” But also young at heart: Winifred even stole a kiss from Buster, claiming she had never smooched with a man of 100 before.
However, the brilliance of marrying My Generation with a band of pensioners was lost on the rest of the music industry. Radio stations just didn’t want to know.
“There’s huge ageism in the music industry,” said one PR in the business. “Never mind OAPs, you can be Madonna and still sell out stadiums, but you won’t get played on the radio.”
Another industry insider described how he recently tried to promote a band of three talented, attractive women in their thirties only to be told they were “not visually acceptable”. In other words, they were too old.
The Zimmers, though, knew that modern technology offers other routes to an audience. Among the members of the band was Peter Oakley, a septuagenarian from the Peak District, who exemplifies how the old can exploit digital technology just as much as the young. He already had a worldwide following
from appearing on YouTube.
So the Zimmers posted their video on the site and the hits began to flow in. On Monday Samuels’s documentary garnered 2m viewers on BBC2. Some of the Zimmers also appeared on the Graham Norton show, where Grace played up her rock’n’roll style by trashing the guest room.
It was all staged, of course, but she’s enjoyed every minute of it. “I smashed a guitar and the telly,” said Grace. “I’m the vandal of the band. I’ve not stopped laughing.”
The Zimmers’ f(r)ame has rapidly snowballed, but underneath the fun a serious point remains. Ageism is deeply embedded, but little acknowledged, in society.
To help the record get into the charts a friend of Dolores rang a well-known London radio station and asked that the Zimmers’ record be played. She was allegedly told by a star young DJ that the station wouldn’t play the record because “old people smell of wee and they’re rubbish”.
Not surprisingly, this upset the Zimmers. “Elderly people should not be written off as smelly,” fumed Dolores. “How dare they? That’s why we’ve done this record. We do not smell.”
Sylvia chipped in: “Well, there are some that do, but that’s the carer’s fault; if they don’t do their job properly [giving them a wash], it’s not the old people’s fault.”
Olfactory objections aside, stations such as Radio 1 and Capital 95.8 last week rejected the Zimmers on the grounds of style.
“No, we are not playing the Zimmers,” said a spokeswoman for Capital. “We are more contemporary, leading-edge music . . . the Killers, the Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs . . . I don’t think [old people are] our target audience, to be fair.”
A spokeswoman for Radio 1 said: “Our remit is to play the best of new British music . . . there are no plans for the Zimmers to be played . . .”
Even without airplay, however, the single rose in a matter of days last week from No 126 on the chart to 25. The record company is already planning an album of cover songs.
“We have started on the backing tracks for several other songs,” said Reed. “Lust for Life by Iggy Pop, Firestarter by the Prodigy and Changes by David Bowie.
“We’ve had the band all checked out by doctors and they won’t say no to anything. They do get tired, but they are going to have a week’s break after the Jay Leno show, then we start recording the album in June.”
Whether or not it is commercially successful -- and all the profits are going to charity to help the elderly -- the band and Reed are finding the project unusually rewarding.
“It’s given these people and me a wonderful opportunity,” said Reed. “Alf has become a national hero. He’s shown that underneath all that wrinkly skin there are brains that still feel 18 to 21 -- as we all do.
“That’s a great message to get across.”
Geriatric Gripes and Grumbles create video star
If anyone shows you’re never too old to master new technology, it is Peter Oakley. At nearly 80 he has become a digital wizard and internet star.
His success is such that he was recently described as “as one of the five most famous Englishmen alive” in the US media. His first video on YouTube, the website that allows people to post vidoes online, is the 10th most viewed and seventh most discussed in the history of the site’s news and politics category.
Little more than a year ago Oakley was enjoying a quiet retirement in the Peak District when he began to take an interest in YouTube.
His initial effort, entitled Geriatric Gripes and Grumbles, shows him talking to camera dressed in a pullover, wearing large glasses and playing old blues music in the background.
“It’s a fascinating place to go to see all the videos that you young people have produced,” he says in the video. “So I thought I’d have a go at doing one myself.
“Oh yes, I really am as old as I look . . . What I hope I’ll be able to do is just bitch and grumble about life in general from the perspective of an old person . . .”
Oakley’s charm struck a chord. His “first try” has been viewed more than 2.5m times. He has gone on to post more than 70 videos, discussing such topics as his Aunt Aggie and incidents from local news, including the case of the vicar reported to the police for kissing a child on the forehead.
His simple storytelling cuts across age barriers. One viewer commented: “I asked my grandmother how it felt to be old and she told me there is an 18-year-old in here . . . I have never forgotten that. I can see the 18-year-old in you.”
Oakley received so many responses he set up a website <http://www.askgeriatric.com> and was interviewed by Time magazine. He was a natural choice as a Zimmers member.
-------------
The Zimmers WebsiteThe Zimmer's Music Video On YouTubeThe Zimmer's On MySpace (Includes Many Video Clips)
The Zimmers On Wikipedia------------
THE ZIMMER'S ON MYSPACE
http://www.myspace.com/thezimmersbandEver thought that Take That were too old to still be called a Boyband? Do you think the Rolling Stones should retire? Well if you answered Yes to both of these questions then you are gonna LOVE this...welcome to the wonderful world of THE ZIMMERS!
Formed in early 2007, The Zimmers are not only the oldest gigging band in the world (with an average age of 78), they are also the most celebrated, having recorded their debut album at the famous Abbey Road Studios, under the watchful eye of Acclaimed Producer Mike Hedges.
Oh and by the way, don't tell them you think this is funny, with more aggression than Nirvana and more talent than The Beatles, these OAP's are here to stay. Their first single 'My Generation' is released on May 21st. Expect it to climb faster than a Stenna Stair Lift!
Other songs in THE ZIMMERS repertoire include 'Firestarter' by The Prodigy, 'When I'm (one hundred and)64' by The Beatles and the live favorite (Jermain Stewarts worldwide hit) 'We Don't have to take our clothes off (to have a good time)' new additions to the set now include Iggy Pop's Lust for Life and Robbie Williams' Old before I die'.
MEET THE BAND
Winifred Warburton (99)
Winifred lives in a care home in Derbyshire. When she was younger she did a bit of freelance work as a journalist and also wrote a few ladybird books on how to crochet. She’s a bit of a poet and is writing her memoirs. She also likes reading novels and keeping abreast of current affairs through the broadsheets. She used to play the organ and brushed up on her skills in preparation for the recording of “My Generation”. Winifred finds it hard to settle in a care home or find somewhere that really feels like home. She craves more stimulation and interaction with likeminded people. Not one to sit around doing nothing Winifred likes to take matters into her own hands and has moved care home so many times that she’s on first name terms with the removals man.
Eric Whitty (69)
Eric lives in a care home near Liverpool. He’s like a human jukebox -- loves karaoke and singing anything from Beatles to Elvis and he does a great rendition of Amarillo. The Abbey Road session was Eric’s first time in London -- with “My Generation” set to storm the charts it probably won’t be his last.
Tim O'Donovan (81)
Tim lives in a care home attached to a convent in Clacton. He’s a man of the church and left Ireland to spend many years working as a missionary in Africa. He has mastered computers and writes articles reminiscing about the people and places he’s come across during his life. Tim also enjoys a pint of Guinness in the local pub. Despite being very happy with the home and mindful of how lucky he is, he’s conscious that he’s somewhat outnumbered -- sharing a home with 30 women, there’s only so much chit-chat about knitting and manicures that a man can take. Tim craves a bit more male banter and a good joke over a pint now and then.
Joan Bennett (it's rude to ask a ladies age!)
Joan lives on her own in London. Aside from routine visits to the GP Joan hasn’t been out of the flat for 3 years. A carer does all her shopping -- her only contact with the outside world is her radio. She used to play the harmonica but it’s been gathering dust in a cupboard for 20 years -- who knows, success in the charts just might re-kindle that musical spark.
Alf Carretta (90 years old -- Zimmers lead singer) and Bingo friends Ivy Lock, Rose Dickens, Dolores Murray, Rita, Sylvia Beaton, Sally Page. This group of people met at the Mecca bingo hall on Essex Road and have been friends ever since. Some of them were there the day it opened, but sadly, after 30 odd years they’ve played their final game -- according to Rank, who own Mecca, the double taxation on bingo gives them no choice but to shut it down. Alf says these are the only friends he has and he’s worried he’ll lose touch. Their efforts to keep the hall open have fallen on deaf ears and they’re hoping a bit of music might be what’s needed to grab people’s attention.
Gillian (Deddie) Davies (69 years old - Actor)
Gillian’s acting career has spanned decades from rep to TV -- She played Mrs Perks in the Railway Children and has appeared in comedy classics such as Waiting for God and Little Britain. Gillian is a trustee of Compassion in Care and has been campaigning about quality of life for elderly people ever since her friend was badly treated in a care home. We’re glad to have at least one RADA-trained singer in the band!
Peter Oakley (Coming up for 80)
Otherwise known as “Geriatric 1927” to regular You Tubers, Peter has become the internet Grandad through his video blogs with his reflections on life. People love the fact that he’s just himself -- utterly genuine -- as well as being someone who challenges many of the stereotypes of elderly people. In the build up to the Abbey Road session Peter was looking forward to meeting others face to face for a change, and he watched videos of The Who performing My Generation live in preparation for our recording. See Peter in action <http://www.askgeriatric.com/>
Buster Martin (100)
Buster works 3 days a week for Pimlico Plumbers. He was recently in the press because he gave as good as he got when attacked by muggers. Someone like Buster who is still going strong at 100 years old is a great example to us all.
John & Bubbles Tree (big jazz fans -- used to listen to Chris Walker's jazz show on Radio Solent), Rob Fulford (Used to enjoy Dennis Skillicorn’s sailing programme on Radio Solent), Dennis Skillicorn (Former presenter on Radio Solent) Though they once tuned in on a daily basis to listen to their favourite shows, these former listeners turned off when Radio Solent decided it was time to let some of their more elderly presenters go. None too impressed with the current trend for music and banter geared towards a younger audience, they’re united in their determination to get older voices back on air. If they can get a record in the top 40 they’ll be all over the airwaves.
Grace Cook (83)
Grace entered the world of showbiz at the age of 7 enrolling in an amateur dancing school where she was trained to sing. She went on to perform mainly in pantos and summer shows and she’s been with the Hoxton Singers for about 10 years, performing occasionally to elderly people in care homes. Grace jumped at the chance to lend solidarity to the other band members and break down a few stereotypes at the Abbey Road session -- at 83 she’s definitely still got it.
The Zimmer Facts:
- In 2000, there were 600 million people aged 60 and over; there will be 1.2 billion by 2025 and 2 billion by 2050.
- Today, about two thirds of all older people are living in the developing world; by 2025, it will be 75%.
- In the developed world, the very old (age 80+) is the fastest growing population group.
- Women outlive men in virtually all societies; consequently in very old age, the ratio of women/men is 2:1.