WHILE Tom Parker’s life was cruelly cut short, the British pop star has created a legacy which will last for decades.
The Wanted singer’s brave battle with brain cancer captured the heart of the nation and the news of his death on Wednesday, at just 33, has united his family, friends and fans in grief.
Tom had campaigned tirelessly since he was diagnosed with stage four Glioblastoma in October 2020, in the hope he could raise awareness and hasten a cure for the disease.
Now those closest to the boyband star want his funeral to be a celebration of his life, filled with uplifting stories about his positivity, sense of humour and quick wit.
Even as he struggled with his mental health during unrelenting rounds of chemo and radiotherapy, Tom told fans he was determined to live. Just last month, he announced he had written a book, Hope: My Inspirational Journey, about “carrying on against all odds”.
It is a cruel twist of fate that he will not see its publication in July. The singer leaves behind his wife and “soulmate”
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Kelsey, 30, and their two children Aurelia, two, and Bodhi, one. The couple met in 2009 and said it was “love at first sight”. They married nine years later.
Kelsey announced the tragic news on social media just hours after Tom’s death and later posted: “He changed so many lives in such a small amount of time. Tom Parker, I love you.”
As well as his family, Tom’s bandmates Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran and Jay McGuinness were with him in his last moments. They later posted a joint message on The Wanted’s Instagram, saying: “Words can’t express the loss and sadness we feel.”
Siva added on his own account: “Hey Tom, I hope you’re having a blast up there. I am so grateful that I had a chance to witness your true courage. It has been an absolute pleasure Tommy Boy. Thank you for letting us see you light up the world. Love you brother x”
The Wanted formed in 2009 and went on to have two UK No1 singles — Glad You Came and All Time Low — eight other Top Ten tracks and sold 12million records worldwide. But growing tensions tore the band apart in 2014.
When Tom was diagnosed two years ago, his bandmates rallied round, putting to bed previous squabbles. Initially they planned for a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall as part of Channel 4’s Stand Up 4 Cancer campaign. The event, which raised more than £31million for charity, opened the door to a 12-date UK tour last month.
In an interview with The Sun in September, the group revealed how Tom’s diagnosis had made them realise the importance of friendship and said it was the driving force behind their reunion.
They released a greatest hits album last year and Tom said working with his band- mates again had given him something to focus on when he was at his lowest.
I had nothing, I was so exhausted. I was so happy when it ended.
Tom Parker
He said at the time: “The chemo was tough, brutally tough. It strips everything away, the bad and the good — so you have nothing. I had nothing, I was so exhausted. I was so happy when it ended.
“When I was really poorly a few months ago, my daughter Aurelia wouldn’t come near me. She wouldn’t speak to me. I was poorly and she could tell. Then when I was feeling better, she instinctively knew. Now I am here (with the band) and I am doing it. I don’t have time to feel sh***y.”
The tour kicked off in Glasgow on March 3 but Tom had to miss a handful of performances so that he could receive treatment at a private clinic in Spain.
When he returned to the stage — much to the delight of their adoring fans — he sat on a throne as the boyband performed their 2012 hit Glad You Came. He last appearing in Liverpool on March 17.
The track is No1 on iTunes and it is expected to climb the official charts in the coming weeks as a mark of respect to the Bolton-born singer. Sources say The Wanted’s future commitments are on hold while they come to terms with Tom’s loss but that they will obviously remain close to Kelsey and the couple’s children.
In Channel 4 documentary Inside My Head, which aired in November, Tom revealed he had recently bought his “forever home” and hoped he would “grow old” in it with his family.
He added: “It’s important for me that the kids and Kels have got somewhere nice to grow up. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my health, so as long as they are all right, that’s all that matters.
“I’m proud of myself. This house represents a new start for me. I feel like there’s been a family grown here, and hope- fully this is what our family is going to do.”
Tom was driven to fundraise because he had been to shocked to learn about the lack of treatment and funding for brain cancer patients in the UK.
He had received the diagnosis alone in hospital due to coronavirus restrictions preventing wife Kelsey from attending the appointment with him.
As he embarked on chemo and radiotherapy, Tom gave a number of interviews calling on more research into brain tumours, of which glioblastoma has a poor prognosis.
In December he told an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours that he was “staggered they can find a cure for Covid within a year but for decades on end they haven’t found better treatments, let alone a cure, for brain tumours.”
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He added that he attributed some of his lowest moments to “the level of toxicity in the treatment process”. The media attention and outpouring of support from fans due to his campaigning has ensured greater awareness of the disease — and this will be one of Tom’s greatest legacies.
It has been revealed he requested Oasis’s 1994 anthem Live Forever to play in his final moments, and his memory will certainly do that.
