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Merle, part of Britain’s first all-female pop group – Mandy and The Girlfriends - discusses her experiences of ageing, ageism and preforming and recording in her 70s.
“Back in the 1960s I was part of Britain’s first all-girl pop group. Recently we had a reunion and went back to the recording studio which was really exciting – it was even covered by the BBC! We wanted to prove that just because we’re in our 70s, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do things we enjoy."
“We did lots of gigs in our younger years but now are focusing more on writing music. We are currently writing a rock song about ageing! Alongside all of this, two of us have written a book together about our experience in the music industry called ‘It's Different for Girls’, which was then made into a musical. We did our first reunion in 2000 when we were in our 50s, so it’s exciting to get to do it again in our 70s."
“Sometimes, it can feel like you are being left behind and life is moving on - the world is not tailored to those who are older. For example, it’s now the default for bills to be paid online, and there is no option, or it’s very convoluted, to pay over the phone. There are some elderly people who haven’t been trained to use the web, so they can easily be isolated this way. To combat this, I think it should be mandatory for businesses to always have a way to get in touch via telephone.”
“Ageism is something you don’t really take account of until it happens to you. Now that I’m older, I take note of ageist comments that are made towards me. For example, as a band we get a lot of negative comments about us performing in our 70s.”
“We didn’t think about ageism at all when we were younger, we were more focused on sexism and misogyny – something we experienced a lot. In the 60s we played in different places, for example, we performed in Germany for American GIs returning in the war against Vietnam. Whilst performing in Britain, we faced lots of sexual harassment and were treated differently because we were women. We remained resilient and continued with making music. Now that we’re older, we have the same attitude towards ageism. This made me want to get involved with the Age Without Limits campaign."
“People assume you won’t be interested in doing certain things because you’re older, which isn’t the case! I have never fallen out of love with music and still have a passion for it. Even though I have arthritis, I still continue to perform. My grandkids sometimes see it as a bit embarrassing – they playfully joke about me still doing things like this at my age, but I don’t let it bring me down."
On ageing, well, Merle says that keeping your mind and body active is the best approach, if possible. “Despite facing some health issues, I still try to walk at least 15,000 steps a day to keep moving. A little bit of exercise goes a long way towards feeling better."
“I would also say not to sit there and accept things you don’t like because you’re older. Use your voice and express what you think about certain things; our opinions matter just as much as everyone else’s.”
The band with which Merle performs is now simply called The Girlfriends. She wrote their latest song, sings harmony, backing vocals, and plays the keyboard and string section.
