Singing releases same ‘love’ hormone as sex
Has the dip in temperature set your mood to blue? Research into the health benefits of singing shows it could be just the think to perk you up!
Did you know singing improves your sense of wellbeing, reduces pain, improves breathing, speech and posture?
Since the dawn of time singing has been a way of marking community life – celebrating births, deaths and work. In many less technological societies it’s a central way of bringing people together. As a famous Zimbabwean proverb goes: ‘if you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing.’
But are we losing site of the value of singing? Are we turning into passive listeners as we encourage only the best singers to perform?
At the Local Buyers Club we’re on a mission to get people singing! Partly because we’re die-hard karaoke fans ourselves. Let’s face it – it’s pretty tricky to go out for karaoke without breaking a smile at some point.
In celebration of Lucky Voice Islington and Soho being in the Club and offering discounts to our members, we’ve been learning about the origins of karaoke and why health experts think it’s particularly good for us.
A recent study at the University of Stockholm showed that men and women get an oxytocin high when they sing. It’s the same hormone the body releases during pregnancy, lactation and sex!
Following an accident that left him disabled, sixties musician Robert Wyatt described singing as: “The best free drug going!” He added: “It does what exercise does and more.”
Professor Clift of the Sidney de Haan Centre for Research (part of Canterbury University) wrote: “Just as walking is now prescribed, the benefits of singing for health are slowly being rediscovered by health practitioners.”
Parkinsons patients who attend singing sessions report having fewer stutters afterwards and asthma sufferers say they breathe easier after singing. And scientists say secretion of antibodies increases when we sing, so our immunity is boosted too!
Lucky Voice launched in Soho in 2005 as of the UK’s first ever private-room karaoke venues. Its Islington branch opened soon after.
Founders describe their mission: “to bring out the love of singing in everyone!”
SPECIAL EVENTS AT LUCKY VOICE IN DECEMBER...
Brunch is good, bottomless brunch is better, but a bottomless brunch themed around the career of Mariah Carey is probably the best thing to happen in the history of Christmas. Join in on Sat 14th December for two hours of bottomless Mariah-inspired cocktails, food and party games before finishing with a sing to the ultimate Mariah playlist, all for £50pp. Grab your tickets here.
On Saturdays from 12pm in December they're hosting a festive brunch at Lucky Voice Islington. Expect two hours of bottomless Christmas cocktails and food, fun festive games and an hour of private room karaoke to finish the day off, with a range of Christmas playlists to choose from. Running on the 7th, 21st and 28th December. Tickets cost £45 per person and can be purchased here.
CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL MASTERCLASS
Looking to shake up something a little different for the office Christmas party this year? Then how about a cocktail masterclasses. Led by cocktail elves, you can look forward to learning how to make a number of festive twists on classic and modern cocktails with plenty of sampling throughout. Choose from one of three packages, Santa hats provided.
Silver (£45pp) - 60 min masterclass, make and try festive cocktails, bar snacks (crisps and nuts), mince pies!
Gold (£50pp) - 60 min masterclass, make and try festive cocktails, bar snacks (crisps and nuts), mince pies, 1 hour private karaoke to finish!
Platinum (£55pp) - 90 min masterclass, make and try festive cocktails, bar snacks (crisps and nuts), mince pies, pizza, 1 hour private karaoke to finish!
To book, please email hello@luckyvoice.com.
Local Buyers Club members get free room hire at Islington and Soho (Sunday-Wednesday, when they place a £40 deposit that’s redeemable against food and drink – groups of up to 8, £60 for 9+). The rooms have touch-screen technology, access to over 9,000 songs, a prop box and a ‘Thirsty’ button for food and drink service.
To book, email here or call 0207 439 3660 and quote "Local Buyers Club" (you may need to show your membership card on arrival). Alternatively, just turn up with your card for a spontaneous sing.
Did you know?
The Word ‘karaoke’ means “empty orchestra” in Japanese.
The craze is said to have started in a bar in Kobe, Japan when a band failed to turn up for a gig and the owner invited customers to sing instead.
There’s a Karaoke World Cup! It launched in 2013 – the latest was in Helsinki in 2017 and thousands of people turned up hoping to secure a record deal.
Daisuke Inoue invented the first karaoke-style machine. The craze quickly caught on and spread throughout Asia.
The World Record holder for the longest karaoke marathon is Italian Leonardo Polverelli – he sang 1,295 songs over 101 hours, 59 minutes and 15 seconds (over four days!).
Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean is the world’s most popular karaoke song!
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