A SURVEY of 30,000 funerals conducted last year found that hymns are no longer the first music of choice.

Now 65% of those making their final journey did so to the sound of anything from the Benny Hill theme tune to Monty Python’s Look On The Bright Side Of Life. Only 35% of services included traditional hymns.

Frank Sinatra’s My Way was the most popular song for those facing the final curtain.

Others in demand included Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, Time To Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, You Raise Me Up by Westlife and Angels by Robbie Williams. All performances with a certain logic and inspirational tone.

But Benny Hill? And the tunes from Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Only Fools And Horses? They obviously seemed apposite to someone.

A few people choose their own funeral music in advance, but most rely on those left behind to opt for the most suitable – something that reflects the character of the dear departed and their own feelings of loss.

At my age, I have been to countless funerals and listened to a wide variety of secular music. All of it, in its own way, has been appropriate.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the church when the widow walked out behind the coffin to Jennifer Rush singing The Power of Love. Happy Days Are Here Again seemed totally right for a comedian chum and the vicar at the service of a musician friend announced a period of quiet reflection while the congregation listened to Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding which was so right that I still remember every time I hear the song.

What music would I choose for my own passing? I haven’t a clue. Something from Lennon or George Harrison, perhaps.

Or maybe it might be judicious to choose a spread of music from all the major religions to cover all the bases. Just in case.

But please, not Benny Hill.