The sunny Mr Blue Sky, the crowd pleasing Thunderstruck and even the Fairytale of New York feature among advisers’ top choices of go-to songs when they want to reduce stress.
To mark Stress Awareness Month this April, Health & Protection spoke to advisers up and down the country about which songs they listen to when stress mounts.
Kicking us off pop pickers is Alan Knowles, co-managing director at Cura Financial Services, who plumps for Epica’s Tides of Time.
“It’s one of these songs where it’s got a female lead singer who has got a really incredibly beautiful voice and she will sing operatic,” Knowles told Health & Protection.
“But you’ve got someone that growls in background going grrrrrrrrrrhhhhh,” he continued.
“And it’s just got that contrast,” he added. “You’ve got her singing really high and it’s beautiful and operatic and then you’ve got this really growly, Metal person in the background.
“And I just love it. I absolutely love it.”
If metal is not your thing, Alan Lakey, director at CIExpert and Highclere Financial Services, has gone for a more serene pick in the form of Ed Harcourt’s From Every Sphere.
“Why?” Lakey told Health & Protection. “It’s calming. It’s relaxing and it’s one of those that when I hear it, I stop what I’m doing and sit back and allow it to flow over me.”
But sometimes an adviser just wants to rock out to banish stress. And what better choice could you have then head of healthcare and protection at Sutton Winson, David Clare’s pick – AC DC’s Thunderstruck.
“I love watching it where there’s a huge crowd,” Clare said. “There was a massive crowd in Argentina and it was one of their greatest concerts.
“It was such a cool thing to watch. Everyone was loving it.”
‘It’s all about sunshine’
Everyone likes it when the sun shines, don’t they though? And it’s this that has inspired managing director of Working To Wellbeing, Julie Denning’s choice of Mr Blue Sky by E.L.O.
“I love it,” Denning says. “It cheers me up. It’s all about sunshine. The moment it’s on, it makes me want to dance.”
Moving from mainstream rock to punk, Protection Parent, Karla Edwards’s choice comes from the hardcore genre, with Prada by Casso.
“The background music is amazing,” Edwards said.
“You just have to sing along to it. It just makes me forget what’s going on for three minutes.”
But perhaps the most unorthodox choice of all is from Ascend Health director of healthcare Kristian Breeze, who as we head into a Easter weekend has gone for Fairytale of New York by the Pogues.
“I find great comfort in sipping a frosty Guinness with the old boys in my favourite Irish bar,” Breeze said.
“So naturally Fairytale of New York always finds itself on the jukebox for a proper Auld’ singalong.”
Helping through a difficult time
Phil Jeynes, head of individual protection UK at MetLife UK, has gone for the more serene One Day Like this by Elbow.
“It’s emotional and anthemic,” Jeynes said. “I belt it out and always feel uplifted.”
Johnny Timpson has chosen an old classic – Desperado by The Eagles.
“I bought it on cassette when I turned 13,” Timpson told Health & Protection.
“It was a challenging and difficult time in my life and I now realise that this was compounded by my being autistic and not having developed the filters, coping strategies, awareness and self confidence that I have today.
“The track itself speaks to someone that is fixated on something to the extent that he pushes away those who are trying to help them – I’m now very alive to my need to appreciate help where offered and ask for it if not.”
And finally, Emma Thomson, consultant at Emma Thomson Consultancy Services, opted for Groove Armada’s Easy, Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, went for Radiohead’s How to disappear completely and Jacqueline Durbin, global head of product – sourcing at Iress, prefers anything by Paramore.
Mike Hesh, head of UK employee benefits at Engage Health, opts for Shapeshifter’s Lola Theme or anything that reminds him of his clubbing days.
