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In these fraught times, we’re all looking for ways to find comfort. And for many of us, it looks as if the answer is simple: whack on some throwback tunes.

Data from Spotify, the streaming giant with more than 270m users worldwide, has reported an upward trend in nostalgic tracks in recent times.

Between April 1-7, there was a 54 per cent increase in users making nostalgia-themed playlists with titles featuring words such as “throwback” or “oldies”, while tracks from the 1950s saw a bigger increase in listens than any other decade.

The 60s, 70s and 80s have also seen spikes in their stream counts, with tracks such as Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen, Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, Wonderwall by Oasis and I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys all featuring among the most popular choices.

Things to do at home to keep entertained during lockdown 8 show all Things to do at home to keep entertained during lockdown 1/8 Things to do at home to keep entertained during lockdown Jason Briscoe/Unsplash 2/8 Take part in a virtual workout class While gyms are shut for the foreseeable future, plenty are moving their classes online. Joe Wicks is also helping the nation stay fit from home while all this is going on, by hosting workouts on his Instagram page every morning at 9am for people to get involved with. It’s not all about mere calorie burning, though. Sadler’s Wells has announced plans to stream online dance classes – perfect if you’re up for trying something new during these strange times. The dance venue is launching its Digital Stage series from April 1, presenting performances alongside classes created with children and older people in mind. PA 3/8 Take part in a virtual pub quiz The pub seems to be one of the things Londoners are missing the most, after the UK’s boozers shut their doors last Friday. East London favourite The Pembury Tavern is here to help, hosting a virtual pub quiz via its Instagram page at 7pm every Monday evening and helping punters get the week off to a fun start. Brewdog is also getting in on the act, launching 102 virtual pubs. Each of them recreates one of the Brewdog pubs across the UK, hosting quizzes, virtual tastings and giveaways over the coming weeks. In fact, there are plenty of pub quizzes on. Chin chin! Getty Images 4/8 Stream a virtual concert James Blake is among the pop stars to launch their own virtual concerts, with the singer-songwriter sitting down at his piano to serenade listeners on Instagram this week. He promises there’ll be more to come too, so keep an eye out. Elsewhere, everyone from Keith Urban (with help from Nicole Kidman), to Christine and the Queens have posted performances online. Even if you missed them the first time around, they’re all still available to catch up on. Instagram/jamesblake 5/8 Try your hand at Taskmaster Dave’s Taskmaster has been doing its bit to alleviate boredom across the land this week. The show is setting people a series of challenges on Twitter using the #HomeTasking hashtag. The first task is to “throw a piece of A4 paper into a bin. Most spectacular throw wins,” with more to be announced throughout this week. Get involved, get creative and post videos using the hashtag to be in with a chance of getting on the leaderboard, making into the Taskmaster YouTube montage and maybe even getting on the show. UKTV 6/8 Escape with a good film With all this extra time available to people, there’s never been a better opportunity to discover new films. Take the opportunity to try out an underrated gem on Netflix and Amazon Prime, or discover a brand new streaming service like Disney+. Escapist classics can help to transport you across the world from the comfort of your sofa – check out our full list of recommendations here, from The Beach to The Darjeeling Limited. Even though there’s been a rush of film postponements over recent weeks, there are plenty of alternatives to the likes of James Bond and Mulan to check out and keep us entertained too, with a wealth of options available to film fans at the touch of a button. If you're totally at a loss over what film to choose, try out this random film generator. 7/8 Take part in an album listening party Even with coronavirus putting new album releases into doubt, there’s a lot for music fans to get involved in from home. The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess is teaming up with some of his buddies for a series of nostalgic album listening parties, welcoming the likes of Liam Gallagher and members of Franz Ferdinand and Blur for listening parties from 10pm on weekdays, starting from March 23. Getty Images 8/8 Try a takeaway from one of London’s top restaurants People can support London’s restaurant scene by ordering deliveries from a huge range of venues across the city. Read our full guide here, and if you're more in the mood for a drink, have a look at our rundown of drinks delivery options. If you’re looking for home cooking inspiration, some of the most celebrated chefs in London recently shared with us their self-isolation cooking recipes, made using long-lasting ingredients. 1/8 Things to do at home to keep entertained during lockdown Jason Briscoe/Unsplash 2/8 Take part in a virtual workout class While gyms are shut for the foreseeable future, plenty are moving their classes online. Joe Wicks is also helping the nation stay fit from home while all this is going on, by hosting workouts on his Instagram page every morning at 9am for people to get involved with. It’s not all about mere calorie burning, though. Sadler’s Wells has announced plans to stream online dance classes – perfect if you’re up for trying something new during these strange times. The dance venue is launching its Digital Stage series from April 1, presenting performances alongside classes created with children and older people in mind. PA 3/8 Take part in a virtual pub quiz The pub seems to be one of the things Londoners are missing the most, after the UK’s boozers shut their doors last Friday. East London favourite The Pembury Tavern is here to help, hosting a virtual pub quiz via its Instagram page at 7pm every Monday evening and helping punters get the week off to a fun start. Brewdog is also getting in on the act, launching 102 virtual pubs. Each of them recreates one of the Brewdog pubs across the UK, hosting quizzes, virtual tastings and giveaways over the coming weeks. In fact, there are plenty of pub quizzes on. Chin chin! Getty Images 4/8 Stream a virtual concert James Blake is among the pop stars to launch their own virtual concerts, with the singer-songwriter sitting down at his piano to serenade listeners on Instagram this week. He promises there’ll be more to come too, so keep an eye out. Elsewhere, everyone from Keith Urban (with help from Nicole Kidman), to Christine and the Queens have posted performances online. Even if you missed them the first time around, they’re all still available to catch up on. Instagram/jamesblake 5/8 Try your hand at Taskmaster Dave’s Taskmaster has been doing its bit to alleviate boredom across the land this week. The show is setting people a series of challenges on Twitter using the #HomeTasking hashtag. The first task is to “throw a piece of A4 paper into a bin. Most spectacular throw wins,” with more to be announced throughout this week. Get involved, get creative and post videos using the hashtag to be in with a chance of getting on the leaderboard, making into the Taskmaster YouTube montage and maybe even getting on the show. UKTV 6/8 Escape with a good film With all this extra time available to people, there’s never been a better opportunity to discover new films. Take the opportunity to try out an underrated gem on Netflix and Amazon Prime, or discover a brand new streaming service like Disney+. Escapist classics can help to transport you across the world from the comfort of your sofa – check out our full list of recommendations here, from The Beach to The Darjeeling Limited. Even though there’s been a rush of film postponements over recent weeks, there are plenty of alternatives to the likes of James Bond and Mulan to check out and keep us entertained too, with a wealth of options available to film fans at the touch of a button. If you're totally at a loss over what film to choose, try out this random film generator. 7/8 Take part in an album listening party Even with coronavirus putting new album releases into doubt, there’s a lot for music fans to get involved in from home. The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess is teaming up with some of his buddies for a series of nostalgic album listening parties, welcoming the likes of Liam Gallagher and members of Franz Ferdinand and Blur for listening parties from 10pm on weekdays, starting from March 23. Getty Images 8/8 Try a takeaway from one of London’s top restaurants People can support London’s restaurant scene by ordering deliveries from a huge range of venues across the city. Read our full guide here, and if you're more in the mood for a drink, have a look at our rundown of drinks delivery options. If you’re looking for home cooking inspiration, some of the most celebrated chefs in London recently shared with us their self-isolation cooking recipes, made using long-lasting ingredients.

The lockdown is clearly playing on our minds, with streams of Billie Holiday’s Solitude and In My Room by the Beach Boys increasing by 74 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. However, there still seems to be a fair bit of optimism around — The Only Way is Up by Yazz has increased its streams by 56 per cent.

We’ve been turning to our own comfort songs in recent times — head here to listen through our favourites.