Scots 'bucking funeral pop trend'

Scottish mourners are bucking a trend for pop music at funerals with more and more choosing traditional hymns, a study by a funeral director suggests.

In Scotland the number of funerals with hymns rose from 54% to 56% last year, according to Co-operative Funeralcare.

But its survey of 242 funeral homes and 30,000 services showed 58% of people in England and Wales chose pop music.

Frank Sinatra's My Way was most played song at funerals last year and The Lord Is My Shepherd the top hymn.

The Co-operative Funeralcare survey found that since its last study four years ago, the number of people in England and Wales choosing hymns to be played at funerals dropped by 6%, from 41% to 35%, while the number opting for pop music rose from 55% to 58%.

In Scotland the number of funerals accompanied by hymns rose from 54% to 56% and those with pop music fell from 37% to 36%.

The funeral top 10 was headed by Frank Sinatra and included My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion, I Will Always Love You, by Whitney Houston and You'll Never Walk Alone, sung by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Alexandra Burke's chart-topping cover version of Hallelujah appears at number 26, two months after it first aired on television.

More than a quarter of funeral homes surveyed received unusual requests during the year, including television themes from Emmerdale, Top Gear and Only Fools and Horses; Doctor and the Medics' Spirit in the Sky, AC/DC's Highway to Hell and So Long, Farewell, from The Sound of Music.

The study also revealed about one in every 10 requests for pieces of music were rejected because clergy conducting the funeral felt the choice was inappropriate.


The Co-operative Funeralcare's Lorinda Sheasby said the study reaffirmed that trends in funerals were changing.

"Today's tear-jerking chart topper is extremely unlikely to be tomorrow's funeral classic, but it's quite possible it will figure highly in the months or even years to come," she said.

"As more people choose non-religious funerals, so they incline towards contemporary songs with which they closely identify," she added.

"Our aim is to make more people aware of the options and choices open to them, so that ultimately the funeral service reflects the life of the individual, which is of great benefit to the bereaved."

The History Of Hearses

Who's Who?

Hi, Nick here.
I've just added a handy who's who to our downloads page

http://www.funeralhelp.co.uk/Downloads.html

This is a list of some of the people who will be helping you after the death of a loved one.....its not a glossary but its similar....i think! Have a look :-)

A tough crowd? Comic turn at funeral!

A FAMILY said goodbye to their mum with smiles on their faces — after booking comic Dominic Collins for her funeral.

Stuart Hargreaves asked the singing postman from Droylsden to perform at his mum Norma’s wake . . . in front of dozens of mourners.

After the service at Dukinfield crematorium, relatives gathered at Stalybridge Labour Club where Dominic was waiting with a guitar and a bagful of gags.

The songwriting funnyman admitted he was stunned by the request, but was happy to oblige. And he soon turned the tears of sadness into joy.

He said: "I’ve done some tough gigs in my time, but that takes the biscuit. I must admit I was really apprehensive beforehand. Everyone came in looking really sombre. But they left grinning and laughing, thank goodness. They left looking a lot happier than when they came in, at least."

Norma, 66, of Newton, Hyde was a huge fan of Dominic, according to son Stuart, 43.

"We wanted the wake to be a celebration of her life. Mum would have absolutely loved it. She had all his CDs and used to collapse in laughter listening to them. We’ve been to a few of his shows and he’s even staged one of his trademark living room gigs in my house. He’s very funny"

Can Britain accept funeral pyres? Pt 3 of 3

'Complex issues'

In 2006, Mr Ghai and the AAFS escaped prosecution after cremating the body of a 31-year-old Sikh man at a secret location in Stamfordham, Northumberland.

Northumbria Police raised no objections to the service at the time, but subsequently said it may have been illegal. The Crown Prosecution Service decided proceedings against Mr Ghai would not be in the public interest.

When Mr Ghai first lodged his application for a judicial review, opinion among the more than 500,000 Hindus in the UK was divided.

Since then, the influential UK Hindu Council organisation, as well as some Sikh temples, have backed him.

The Hindu Council recently stated it recognised that the "individual choice of those Hindus who follow the directives of Hindu scriptures and wish to have open air funerals, should be honoured".

As a "priority" it is also pressing for existing rules to be changed so that the "performance of a small fire ceremony in an open coffin" could take place at crematoriums.

However, some Hindus see the AAFS's approach as a backwards step.

Jay Lakhani, from Hindu Academy educational body said: "Hindu scriptures should be interpreted judiciously and teaching does allow interpretation in a modern way."

He said he could not understand why UK Hindus would want to dispose of bodies in an "antiquated" manner although he would not object to outdoor cremations taking place if legally permitted.

Newcastle City Council is not commenting ahead of Tuesday's case.

The government said it had no plans to change the law on cremations.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "There are inevitably competing views on the appropriate arrangements for disposing of bodies stemming from different views about religion, morals and decency.

"The current law requires that cremations must take place in a crematorium and open air funeral pyres are not allowed. The government considers that this requirement is justified, taking into account the complex social and political issues raised."

At his Gosforth council house, Mr Ghai has been preparing for the High Court hearing.

He has described the case as "provocative, least of all in a nation as notoriously squeamish towards death as our own".

"I fully respect that many Hindu-origin people will prefer the speed and convenience of crematoria but for practicing Hindus like me, receiving last rites is quite literally a matter of life and death," he said.

"Far beyond my own death, I hope my struggle will provide a legacy for those who would not be in a position to undertake such an enormous challenge."

Can Britain accapt funeral pyres? Pt 2 of 3

'Tokenistic symbolism'

Under the Cremation Act, the burning of bodies in England and Wales is restricted to designated crematoriums. Similar acts are in force in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This has resulted in some UK Hindus sending the bodies of deceased relatives to India for a ceremony which dates back some 4,000 years.

In South Asia, most cremations for Hindus and Sikhs are held outdoors, often on the banks of a river regarded as holy. Hindus in particular see open-air cremations as the best way to liberate the soul from the body.

At the High Court, lawyers for Mr Ghai intend to argue that open-air cremations are not "necessarily unlawful".
The funeral pyre of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Allahabad, India , February 2008
The rituals at a Hindu cremation date back some 4,000 years

They will cite past cases that were not subject to prosecution, including the 1934 open air cremation of the Nepalese ambassador's wife in Surrey.

According to Andrew Singh Bogan, the AAFS's legal adviser, parts of the 1998 Human Rights Act covering freedom to practise religious beliefs could also be relied on.

At a Hindu cremation, the corpse is bathed, usually dressed in traditional white clothes and decorated with sandalwood and flowers.

"There can be some tokenistic symbolism at a crematorium but really it's just disposal of a body," Mr Bogan said.

So what are the objections to open-air cremations?

According to the AAFS, past opposition on health and environmental grounds no longer applies.

Mr Bogan said government tests after the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak and an AAFS-commissioned report found no harm to health or the environment from pyres.

The AAFS is proposing open-air cremations take place in designated sites in rural or semi-rural locations away from public areas.

Mr Bogan said Hindu cremations were only now becoming an issue as the immigrants of the 1960s and 1970s reached old age.

But he expects lawyers for Newcastle City Council and the government to portray the practices as "abhorrent".

"In the end this case could come down to the nebulous issue of whether this is seen as 'British' or not," he said.