Here's the most popular songs played at funerals at Lancaster and Morecambe Crem

Instead, families are opting for pop or rock songs to say farewell to their loved ones.

The Crematorium and Memorial Group (CMG), which operates Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium, has revealed the most requested pieces of music for funerals held at the facility during 2022.

Sad, moving or reflective songs that family members believe pay tribute to their loved one continue to dominate the ‘Funeral Top 10’, yet there’s been an increase in more recent years of families choosing more uplifting pop or rock songs.

‘Time To Say Goodbye’ by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli takes the top spot at Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium but is joined by the likes of crooner Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Morecambe and Wise’s ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ takes fourth place on the list.

Personal favourites of the deceased are also more regularly chosen for their send-off, with The Beatles and Elvis Presley evident of a time when music began to play a bigger part in many people’s lives. The diversity of genres available to music lovers in the 1980s and 90s, such as R&B, new wave and indie, is also reflected in songs being chosen by such varied artists as Tina Turner, Blondie, and Oasis.

Jayne Pearce, Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium Business Leader, said: “We all live such different and unique lives now that it’s natural for people to want to make a funeral as individual and personalised as possible.

“The importance of music in our lives is demonstrated by our research which shows it’s the third most common topic for a family to discuss prior to a funeral.”

Top 10 songs at Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium in 2022

1. Time To Say Goodbye - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli

2. My Way - Frank Sinatra

3. Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy

4. Bring Me Sunshine - Morecambe & Wise

5. You’ll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers

6. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole

7. What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

8. Smile - Nat King Cole

9. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler

10. Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole