Sunderland's pre-match anthem among most popular funeral songs

Co-op Funeralcare has released its 2016 funeral music charts - and Sunderland fans will recognise one of the favourites.
Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.
Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.

While Frank Sinatra’s definitive rendition of My Way continues to be the most popular song across all genres chosen for a loved one’s final send-off, for dedicated sports fans in Sunderland the honours go to Dance of the Knights.

The famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev is played before all home matches at the Stadium of Light. This is the first time Dance of the Knights has made it into the funeral music charts.

Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.
Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.
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Based on data gathered from over 30,000 funerals, the funeral music charts were first launched in 2002 and have been released bi-annually ever since.

While My Way shows little sign of being toppled from the top spot any time soon, the Co-Op’s latest research suggests that in future we are likely to see Adele’s songs dominating British funeral services.

The multi-platinum selling artist entered the future top ten chart twice, with worldwide smash Hello and the James Bond theme song Skyfall.

David Collingwood, Head of Funeral Operations at the Co-op said: “Funerals are very much about personal choice and reflecting the personality, hobbies and interests of a person. More so than ever we’re seeing people pre-plan their funeral music and in the last 12 months, 42 per cent of our funeral directors and arrangers have received ready-made pre-planned funeral playlists.

Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.
Dance of the Knights, the famous classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, plays out before all home matches at Sunderland AFC.
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"Personalisation doesn’t stop with the music; hearses, flowers, coffins and memorials can all be uniquely personalised to ensure a funeral reflects the unique personality of a person.”

More than a fifth of people who have actually arranged a funeral say they were given explicit instructions from their loved one on what music they wanted, while almost 30 per cent surveyed said they planned to give their family a CD with their favourite songs on it.

Watch our video to find out more about the songs we’re likely to be hearing at funeral services in the future.