Natalie Rushdie has shared a sweet clip of her practising the tune she beautifully performed at the funeral of her pal Dame Deborah James.
The singer was tasked with the emotional job following the death of Deborah at the age of 40 in June after her five-year battle with bowel cancer. The BBC star was first diagnosed in 2016 and documented her fight throughout while inspiring thousands of fans.
And now jazz singer Natalie has said she felt "honoured" to perform Tell Me It's Not True as she uploaded a clip of her practicing singing a heartfelt version of the song. The tearjerker is impeccably performed by the professional singer and friend of Deborah as the piano is playing in the background.
She revealed she had been inundated with requests for the video and captioned the post: "I feel ready to share this rehearsal of 'Tell Me It’s Not True' from Blood Brothers. Deborah asked me to sing this song during her funeral. It’s a beautiful song and I felt honoured to sing it."
She continued: "Many of you have asked for a recording of this song after the funeral. I needed time to reflect and honour her memory before I shared this but I hope it brings some light to anyone who is in darkness."
Her post was met with a wave of positivity in the comments section. One user wrote: "Deborah would have loved this. Thank you for sharing."
Another penned: "So courageous of you Natalie, I know this couldn't have been easy for you."
And a third added: "So Beautiful Natalie sung so perfectly well for Dame Deborah your Dear friend."
Shortly after Deborah's death, the singer shared a tribute of her own to her Instagram page which read: "Goodbye Deborah", followed by an emoji of two champagne flutes clinking.
Alongside the post, Natalie shared a number of previously unseen snaps of the pair, showing the pals having a laugh at various events, including Royal Ascot, a costume party and at an art gallery.
The poignant tribute continued: "I don’t even know what to say, how to sum up how I feel about my wonderful friend. I feel the world is darker place without you. Every time you were in the room the room lit up, your laughter, jokes and zest for life was certainly contagious.
"You did everything to help others as well as friends with work, life and general advice. I can’t believe we just spoke on Friday and I saw you at Ascot. I know you were dreadfully ill but you were still you! I could see the old Deborah sparkle in your eyes."
She concluded by saying: "I will miss you so much, miss our chats, miss our rants and miss your wonderful smile but I know you're not in pain now and will probably be haunting us to tell us to check our poo!"
