Dave Williams, 81, dazzled everyone at a nursing home with a faultless rendition of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” When he took the microphone at the elderly home, no one was expecting much. The audience chuckled as they got ready for a wobbly, off-key performance. Nevertheless, he started singing. The audience fell silent as his powerful, clear, and harmonious voice released the first notes of “Unchained Melody.” No one could believe what they were hearing, and for a few incredible minutes, time seemed to halt. The cheers that followed were tremendous, and everyone knew they had seen something exceptional.
Local soprano Toni Nesbitt was already performing for the residents of Liverpool’s Park View Nursing Home when Dave Williams requested a concert. For fifty years, Dave has been employed as a medical assistant for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The vocal ability of a man who had previously sung with The Beatles astounded the entire audience.
“When I got up, my daughter pleaded with me to sit down again,” Dave said. “But I am glad I didn’t!”
He felt really fulfilled when a dementia sufferer began singing the song to herself after his performance. It was quite amazing to see a patient with dementia humming the song to herself after I had finished playing.
In 1958, Dave was a member of a band named The Dices, which included Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. When Dave was seventeen, he started performing alone, charging £3 per night at a small bar.
At a friend’s request, he performed with The Beatles at Liverpool’s Knotty Ash Village Hall in 1961, and it was an incredible experience for him. His performance at Paul McCartney’s 58th birthday party at the Linda McCartney Center in 2000, in front of a large crowd that included Mel C, is another significant moment in his life. As he recounts the incident, he states, “It was all surreal and something I will never forget.” The Knotty Ash performance seemed a little odd.
I received a lot of applause despite my off-key performance! People from all over the world came together to celebrate Paul’s birthday.
A nursing home employee posted a video of Dave’s performance on social media, writing, “Words can not explain how we all felt after his performance—and he has said he would love to perform for us again.
” The Park View TikTok profile shared the video, which garnered 500,000 views and a ton of positive feedback from users. Dave was shocked to get a standing ovation at his favorite local restaurant when people saw his performance the next day.
