TWO Bolton musicians have re-recorded an iconic Mancunian anthem to help raise funds in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

GAS Music owners Gary Hilton and Steve Southern, with singer Ashleigh Wood, have created a haunting and stripped back version of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart in support of dementia care with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Creative director, Gary said: “We always wanted to do a cover of the song with a different arrangement but it is such a classic, it is very difficult to do.

“Once you become familiar with Ian Curtis’s lyrics. though. you realise that it is a very sad song, very stark and very dark.

“For the arrangement we stripped it back with a piano and cello and let the narrative speak for itself. When you do that you realise the lyrics are perfect for the message.

“There is a particular line in there, ‘something so good just can’t function no more’ which is sadly very relevant to people seeing their loved ones going through dementia.

“We were nervous about what the feedback would be for using such an iconic song but it has been amazing. So many people, including Joy Division fans, have been so positive about it.”

The song and video compare lost love and hope in the breakdown of a relationship to the demise of a once functioning mind which causes not just the breakdown, but an end to multiple relationships with the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

GAS music worked with the Alzheimer’s Society on the production of the song.

Based in Media City, they were loaned the use of a studio by production company dock10 for the video.

Taking inspiration from Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, the video is just as stripped back as the song, with Ashleigh standing alone in a room.

She slowly reveals different cards to the audience showing heartbreaking words of lost love and struggle, again driving home the message of the struggle people facing dementia have to deal with every day.

Gary added: “The idea is to get the perspective of not necessarily someone with Alzheimer’s but the people who are dealing with it on the sidelines.

“Dementia and Alzheimer’s is affecting all of us as our population gets older and lives longer. According to recent figures 90 per cent of the people aged over 75 will be affected by some kind of dementia. That is quite scary.

“I have been through it with my gran and uncle, my friends have been through it. There are so many people affected but we need to get the message out there about taking care of your mental health.”

The track is now available to buy after being released as part of the Alzheimer’s Society fundraising ELF Day.

Ashleigh, 24, from Morecambe, said: “This Christmas families everywhere are trying to connect with living members who whilst they are there in the flesh are just not functioning as they once did.

“I hope by recreating Joy Division’s anthem we can inspire people to help raise awareness and to support dementia and related disease around the world.”