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Musical Memories

Muso Baby - Big Give Christmas Challenge

As part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge, we’re aiming to raise £15,000 to fund two full series of our fantastic Muso Baby programme.

Muso Baby is a transformative programme which offers free access to a six-week programme, designed to combat postnatal depression, which affects 1 in 10 new mothers, and to address the loneliness, anxiety, and stigma that many parents face. The music therapy sessions are led by a qualified therapist, creating a safe, inclusive space where parents can bond with their babies, build resilience, and connect with a supportive community. This accessible program ensures parents who might not otherwise seek help can benefit from therapeutic support, peer relationships, and strategies to enhance their well-being.

Muso Baby has shown just how powerful a lifeline music can be in early parenthood. And music finds a way to stitch itself into the fabric of all our lives; it evokes emotions, connects communities and preserves memories. We asked our staff about their earliest musical memories. This prompted a collective soundtrack; a heartwarming mosaic of nostalgia and joy…

Keep reading for some of the stories behind the songs, and find out more about The Big Give Christmas Challenge here.

Alex - The Song that Doesn't End (Lamb Chop and friends)

“Just a silly song to sing to be cheeky as a kid. Lots of giggles with sister and mom for this one… though I think we mis-sing it as we always called it the Song that Never Ends.”

Mike - White Christmas by Bing Crosby

“When I was very little, I always liked Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, as there was something soothing about it. 40 years later I found myself singing it to our baby son as he cried his way through Covid last Christmas. It was literally the only thing that could settle him, and it is now his favourite song!”

Geoff - Goodnight Sweetheart (The Al Bowlly version)

“Every night when I was young, it was my dad’s responsibility to sing the lullabies. He wasn’t the best singer (he certainly doesn’t sound like Al Bowlly who he admires so much!), but I still loved it, so much so that every night without fail, I would beg for “Just one more!”. And every night, the last song he sang was Goodnight Sweetheart. It’s kind of a strange song, as the lyrics are meant to comfort you and let you know how loved you are, but the tune is almost melancholic. I hope one day I can find someone special to sing it to myself.”

George - Jolene by Dolly Parton

“I grew up in South Cumbria and on weekends we used to go up the Lakes or down the Bay in the car with mum and dad.  Radio reception was rubbish thanks to the hills and valleys, but the car had a cassette player. My dad only owned a handful of cassettes including a ‘Best of Country’ which my brother and I hated apart from this solid gold banger which was sung along to until the tape wore thin.  I don’t think we were old enough to know or care what it was about!”

Connor - Gold by Spandau Ballet

“Not necessarily an experience I want to define my musical tastes, but I remember hearing this on the radio when I was little and being really taken by the chorus in particular. My parents tell me I loved shouting ‘gold’ at the top of my voice, always slightly out of time with the song.”

Kayleigh - I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by Scissor Sisters

“According to my mum I used to go wild when this song came on and it’s the first song I consciously remember asking to be put on so that I could dance to it. I annoyed many family members by insisting it be put on during family gatherings and making them watch me dance to it. I recently re-listened to it for the first time in years and can confirm that I still think it’s an absolute bop!”

Peter - Daydream Believer by The Monkees

“My mum used to sing this to me to get me to sleep when I was young and to get me to sleep. In the car we also had it on cassette, so it gradually became the song of my childhood, over the years I’ve seen her do the same with my nephews, nieces and cousins.”

Emma - It's not unusual by Tom Jones

“Every long journey to my father’s native south Wales wasn’t complete without several plays of Tom Jones’ greatest hits album.  I can picture me and my parents sat in my dad’s silver Mondeo, crooning to this very recognisable opening track! It’s the horn intro with its jaunty upbeat sound that takes me right back to traveling on those A roads to Merthyr Tydfil.”

Bryony - Govinda by Kula Shaker

“I remember when I was very little having this song played by my parents in the car, with me in the back seat. I liked learning how to pronounce the Hindi lyrics to sing along to it (which I still enjoy with songs in various languages), and the sound of the peacocks crying in the start reminded me of my cat, Lola. It felt very poignant and wistful to me, like a cat crying out for help somewhere in the jungle.”

Nico - Scarlet Ribbons by Harry Belafonte

“I used to have night terrors as a child and would wake up scared. My mum would take me back to bed and sing this to me until I fell back asleep. She would also sing it to me when I was ill. It was the same song her mum sang to her when she was ill as a child, so it’s become a song of comfort in our family.”

John - Orinoco Flow by Enya

“My mum was big into Enya and used to wake me up every Sunday morning blasting it round the house while she hoovered. It felt very ethereal and different to anything else I was hearing at that time. Enya then turned up in Lord of the Rings decades later and added another layer to a great soundtrack.”

Lowell - The Show Must Go On by Queen

“Wouldn’t say it was my favourite Queen song by any stretch, but I was a mega fan of Freddie and the gang when I was young, and was 5 when he passed away. I vividly remember being devastated when news broke that he had died, and this song was on repeat as I nudged my Lego pieces around my bedroom floor forlornly.”

Amy - I should be so lucky by Kylie Minogue

“I remember hearing this at my big cousins’ house when I was really young! We all sang “I should be so lucky…lucky as a ducky!” and I thought those were the real lyrics for ages. I can’t hear that song without singing those words.”

Ciaron - Ocean Drive by Lighthouse Family

“My mum worked for Manchester City Council and, believe it or not, there used to be a nursery and holiday scheme located within the Town Hall so I grew up exploring the building and she would often come and visit me on her lunch break. We would drive into Manchester which probably only took about 20 minutes but felt like hours back then. Some of her favourite bands were M People and the Beautiful South but my earliest memories are of falling asleep on the way home with the Lighthouse family CD on the radio.”

Lauren - Heroes by David Bowie

“My dad used to play the Best of Bowie album constantly when we were in the car going on holiday as a child. This song always reminds me of him as we used to always sing it in the car and also his karaoke song.”

Scarlett - Things I'll never say by Avril Lavigne

“My dad could burn CDs with songs from iTunes (which I thought made him some like computer genius) so I had a CD full of Avril Lavigne songs. I 100% think it changed my whole life’s course. She is the blueprint.”

Caitlin - Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

“My dad always used to sing this to me and my sister when we were kids, and now I still always find it really comforting. I recently heard it playing at the Christmas Markets and I think it’s the first time anything has ever made me smile on Market Street.”

Chloe - Close to You by Maxie Priest

“One of my first musical memories was the Maxie Priest CD in my dad’s car – we’d do long drives from Birmingham down to London where my auntie lives and this is a key core memory for me of those journeys, watching my dad drive no handed while eating sandwiches, feeling like the drive was never going to end, excited to see my family in London! It’s still one of my favourite songs now.”

Lina - Where is Spring?

“The first time I heard this song was when I was five or six years old, and I thought it was very beautiful. When my children were little, I often sang this song to them. They liked it very much and learned to sing it as well. This is a Chinese song called Where Is Spring? When people mention spring, many think of the beautiful scenes in nature — a season full of vitality and hope, with lush green grass, colourful flowers, and the crisp chirping of birds.”

Rachel - Blackbird by The Beatles

“My mum used to sing this song to me and my twin brother to get us to sleep. My partner is a huge a Beatles fan and we now both sing it to our daughter most nights before she goes to sleep.”

Jennie - I Feel Love by Donna Summer

“This is how I first recall a tune really resonating with me from being 4-5 years old, travelling back through Scotland from Loch Ness.

 

Tuning into the radio staring out of the window in the back of the car, (a sky blue, metallic VW Beatle I was heartbroken my parents got rid of), a continuous undulating electronic melody seemed strange, almost at odds with the alternate rugged grey rocks and green hills. But then come the sweeping ethereal elongated notes that matched the rise and fall of the landscape swooping by. I was mesmerised with the rhythm pulsing alongside the unmistakable giggle of the VW engine. I can recall alternating my focus from the nearer blurry to the further but fast-moving, and the open spaces in-between as we sped by.”