Monday, June 04, 2007

The Zimmers




For something just a bit different, I wanted to post a video of the Zimmers. www.youtube.com/v/zqfFrCUrEbY
We saw a documentary last week about this and it's taking the world by storm. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels travelled Britain, investigating the feelings of isolation and imprisonment suffered by the country's elderly, as part of the BBC's "Power to the People" series. Samuels recruits pensioners otherwise stuck in institutions and they air their grievances, culminating in the recording of the group's first single, where the group "sticks it back to the society that has cast them aside". The Zimmers take their name from a type of walker. They have a combined age of 3000 years. The singer is 90 and the one saying 'good bye' at the end is 100!

I read in the paper today that one DJ in London wouldn't play the single because 'old people smell like wee and they're rubbish.' Well, this single is now in the top 25 and it's predicted to be in the top 10 soon. Go old people! You rock! They're travelling all over England now, giving autographs and having a splendid time. "It's put a spark in my step," one elder said.

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