Freddie Mercury and Queen top the charts as Gillotts reveals Nottinghamshire’s favourite songs for funerals

Gillotts Funeral Directors, which also has branches in Kimberley and Selston, said it is part of an ongoing trend of families choosing more up-to-date music for their orders of service.

Where once Abide With Me, My Way and Dame Vera’s We’ll Meet Again routinely filled the air, Tina Turner’s Simply the Best and Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings are now among the most-played choices.

But it is hits from Queen, including Who Wants To Live Forever, These are the Days Of Our Lives and You’re My Best Friend, which are making their way to the top of their charts most often.

Anthony Topley, a partner in the firm and guitarist in his spare time, says he has always been interested in the choice of music that people make but remembers when he started out in his career how hymns were always the order of the day.

But a change in convention and a move to holding services at crematoriums saw popular music entering the funeral service, reflecting the choices of the loved ones and their families.

Gillotts has always kept a record of songs which have been played at its funerals offering a snapshot of changing music tastes over the years.

Over the past few years, Gillotts has gone from mainly conducting funerals for people who grew up listening to Glenn Miller and Dame Vera, to looking after arrangements for fans of music from the 1960s and ’70s, including Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

However, although Queen started out back in the 1970s, their music reaches across the generations, thanks to a huge number of songs throughout their career with lyrics that take on another meaning.

Anthony said: “We’ve always played the odd Queen song over the years, but they have now become one of the most-requested artists at funerals and a number of their songs keep popping up time and again.

“In many cases it’s an age thing, but also their lyrics are really resonating with people because they are attaching to memories or emotions that mean something to them.

“Songs say things so much better than people can say themselves. I have been to so many services when a song that everyone associates with one context can take on a totally unexpected meaning when it’s played at someone’s funeral.”

Songs from the pop charts and musicals have also become popular thanks to the increase in people arranging their own services as part of preparing funeral plans, with some people opting for some more way-out choices for their send-offs.

These include Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell, AC-DC’s Highway to Hell and Always Look On The Bright Side of Life from Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Gillotts has branches on Nottingham Road in Eastwood, Main Street in Kimberley and Nottingham Road in Selston, as well as Stapleford and over the Derbyshire border in Heanor.