Watching on stage as he thrills fans at another sold-out show, his wife Sue still feels giddy all these years after they got married.

She says: “I get butterflies and shivers down my spine whenever he sings. That’s never changed.” But it was Tony who felt giddy when he first laid eyes on Sue.

He was midway through performing Stranger in Paradise at a social club near , South Yorks, in 1967 when he spotted her in the front row. Tony says: “I turned to my bass player and said, ‘I’ve just seen the girl I’m going to marry’. He fell about and thought it was a joke, but we were married within the year.”

Nearly six decades – and three children – later, the couple appear to be more in love than ever when they sit down, along with son Sean, to talk to the . We’re here to discuss Tony’s new album A New Life, which he recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, and reimagines his hits including .

It’s something of a purple patch for the 81-years-old, who only released his last record 12 months ago after a 12-year break. What makes this extraordinary is that it is against the .

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The decision to go public in 2023 sparked an outpouring of love for the singer across Britain. But it was at home that his bravery was felt most keenly. Sue says: “I am so proud of him, in fact I am totally in awe. He has the condition and he deals with it really bravely. He is just the same person, just a little forgetful.”

Sue, 76, adds that when he pops to the shops in Lichfield, Staffs, where they have lived for 20 years, he is constantly stopped by well-wishers. She says: “He might go to to get a paper but it takes an hour because people thank him for talking about dementia and doing what he does to help others with the condition.”

Tony began to realise something might be wrong when . On Sue’s suggestion they went to see a specialist before a series of scans confirmed the news. But Tony takes his diagnosis with a large slice of humour. He jokes: “It’s just short term memory that’s the problem, like paying the bills.”

Son Sean, who is also Tony’s manager, says: “That’s the way we cope with it. We’ll use humour. And dad loves a joke.” He adds: “People come to the show with their husbands or wives who might be living with dementia and they can find hope that it’s not necessarily the end of everything.” As well as the new album, Tony has a busy touring schedule, with dates across the UK and Europe.

He uses a teleprompter in case he forgets the lyrics, but points out that he has done that for years because he has such a vast catalogue of tracks, and he constantly refreshes the set-list. “I’ve got so many songs there is no way to remember them all,” Tony says.

The family go on the road together, and Sue loves nothing more than being in the crowd to see the smiles on people’s faces. Sean says with a laugh: “Mum also loves listening to what everyone says about the show in the toilets during the interval.”

As well as intelligence-gathering, Sue has another key role – making sure Tony looks his best on stage. She says: “He is a very snappy dresser, and I like to think that I’m part of that. Then there is the small matter of ensuring he is up to date with all his vitamins and supplements.

Sue says: “Collagen and fish oil are essentials. I make sure he has all of that.” And it’s clearly doing the job with his voice better than ever on the new album, which he recorded at the famous Blackbird studios.

Tony and his son assembled some of Nashville’s finest musicians, many of whom have played with Elvis, Frank Sinatra and, to play on the record. Sean says: “With Amarillo, you can’t beat the original. It’s a pop song. It’s a classic. We’re not going to redo that but Dad said ‘let’s do a gospel ballad’ and it was just magical. And with every take he’s singing live.”

The country makeover is extraordinary, and somehow breathes new life into classics such as I Did What I Did For Maria and Avenues and Alleyways.

While Tony has recorded in the States before, incredibly, he has never performed live there. “The thing is he’s had hits with Las Vegas, Don’t Go Down to Reno, Have you Ever Been to Georgia, Amarillo, but he’s never done a show himself,” Sean says.

“He was offered but the air conditioning, at the time, destroyed a lot of people’s voices and it was also two shows or three shows at night, so it was tough going.”

But, intriguingly, that could all be about to change. “We were talking about dad doing a show in Amarillo but then Covid hit,” Sean explains.

“The Tourist Board invited dad over in 2005 [] because tourism there shot up. It’s on Route 66 but not many people used to stop there until then. They invited dad and mum and me over and it was a real country, cowboy town. We are looking at the show idea again.”

And don’t bet against Sue being in the front row again...

• Tony’s album A New Life is out now. He is playing live through the UK and Europe throughout 2025, check out live dates at