Wednesbury sing-along sensation Teddy Mac back with new album
It's been more than a year since sing-along sensation Teddy Mac took the internet by storm with his in carpool karaoke, raising more than £150,000 for charity.
The 80-year-old, known as Songaminute Man, went viral after a video of him singing with his son Simon appeared on YouTube.
And tomorrow the pensioner is releasing an album thanks to crowdfunders from across the world.
Music has helped Ted, who is a former pub singer, get back to his old self while battling Alzheimer’s.
His son, Simon, explained: "The tracks are based on Dad’s backing tracks which provided the soundtrack to my life growing up in Blackburn.
"They include powerful renditions of the world’s first ever Number One: the Al Martino classic Here In My Heart, as well as the big band Sinatra style I’ve Got You Under My Skin; melancholic love songs such as How Deep Is The Ocean, All The Way and A Man Without Love; through to the inspirational Volare, Quando Quando Quando and the joyous Nat King Cole number Love."
When Ted's illness first kicked in, his son used to take him out for a drive in the car playing his old backing tracks.
Ted was a singer all his life, having worked at Butlin’s and various pubs and clubs around the country, and it was in these moments driving around Blackburn and the Ribble Valley in which he returned to his old self.
Simon added: “Dad would often say ‘songs are just poems set to music’. So, essentially, this album is about love, which at the end of the day is the only thing that matters.”
World-renown musicians and audio engineers have also worked on the project.
Guy Barker and his orchestra provided the sounds while Grammy award-winning audio engineers Steve Price and Tim Young mixed the tracks.
Despite having difficulties remembering his family at times, Ted can recall lyrics to songs with ease. He recorded Frank Sinatra’s You Make Me Feel So Young at Abbey Road Studios in London last year.
The single peaked at number 43 in the UK charts, with a portion of single sales going to the charity.
The same arrangement is in place with his album. A total of 25 per cent of any profits will go direct to The Alzheimer’s Society to fund research into Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.
The album, entitled Teddy Mac – The Songaminute Man is released on World Alzheimer’s Day tomorrow and is only available at songaminuteman.com.
Search for Teddy Mac – The Songaminute Man on iTunes/Amazon/Google play for MP3 versions.
