MUSIC has the power to take you back in time and as uncertainty grips the world, it seems songs from decades past are striking a chord, with old albums racing up the charts.

Nostalgia?

It’s absolutely at play, with a wistful yearning for the reassurance of days gone by evidently influencing our listening choices as new figures show a surge in the purchasing of old albums and also the streaming of songs from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

New music isn’t getting a look in?

A glance at the recent iTunes Store’s album charts will be a trip down memory lane, with Mariah Carey’s 2008 album, E=MC2 number one in late April, with other albums currently in the top 20 in the UK including Madonna’s Immaculate Collection, which was released 30 years ago, as well as greatest hits offerings from Simply Red, Abba, The Carpenters and Rod Stewart.

Other favourites?

The Ultimate Bee Gees from 2009 is rising up the album charts, along with old Prince, Guns N’Roses, R.E.M. and Fleetwood Mac albums.

The most streamed?

Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock" is a 1950s classic being returned to, along with Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line”. “At Last” by Etta James is a 60s favourite, along with The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun”, while Bill Withers - who passed away just last month - was among the most listened to artists from the 1970s, with “Ain't No Sunshine”; all according to data from streaming giant, Spotify.

The 1980s?

A-ha's "Take on Me" and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" are the 1980s hits being returned to on streaming, with Ms Lauper pointing to the role of nostalgia, saying it’s the same for her too at the moment as "Music marks time for me, so when I hear a song, it brings me back to that exact moment in time”.

Playlists?

Spotify's "All Out 80s" playlist has more than 7.1 million followers and since lockdown began across much of the world, with more people based at home, there has been a 54% increase in listeners making nostalgic-themed playlists.

We are all listening to more music generally?

Again, amid lockdown, smart speaker listening has jumped by 34%, according to eMarketer, as we call on digital assistants like Alexa and Siri to play music that when first released, would either have boomed out of hi-fis, boomboxes or record players.

A link to the past?

Behavioural science writer, David DiSalvo, said the world is finding in music, a connection to stability of old. He said: “Nostalgia is an extremely powerful force linked to memory, but it has a way of putting a rosier view on our memory. When we smell those chocolate chip cookies, it’s a link to memory that brings us back to a more stable, comfortable place in our lives. We can inhabit it in our minds and feel a level of support that most of us aren’t feeling right now because there is so much instability.