Hundreds of fans have lined the streets to mark their respects for The Wanted star Tom Parker, who passed away aged 33 on March 30 .
His funeral is taking place at St Francis of Assisi church in south-east London this morning (April 20), alongside a procession through Petts Woods. Outside the church, where his funeral is taking place, flowers spelled out the words “Glad You Came”, the title of The Wanted’s 2011 hit that went to number one in multiple countries.
The Bolton -born singer’s widow, Kelsey, whom he married in 2018, led a cortege featuring three black horses through Petts Wood in south-east London this morning (April 20). Flowers spelling out the word “Daddy” adorned the side of the carriage while a flowered sign that spelled the word “Tom” in red roses was attached to the front.
The dad-of-two was diagnosed whilst Kelsey was pregnant with their second child and one-year-old son Bodhi in 2020. Parker disclosed in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Despite his diagnosis, in the weeks before his death he had performed on stage with his bandmates as part of their much-delayed reunion tour. Ahead of today’s procession, receptionist Chloe Mayne, 25, from Plumstead, a self-professed “super-fan” of the late singer, told the PA news agency: “It was amazing seeing him (perform live). It’s horrible that I saw him at the O2 and then two weeks later he died.
“The day he died it really hit me. To be fair I don’t think anyone was expecting it that quickly, I thought he’d have at least another Christmas and maybe next year. He did look bad but then he was in Spain for three weeks having treatment before the tour started so I think everyone thought it was bad because of that.
“Most shows he did one song on the tour but at the O2 he did two because I think his kid was there – he did Gold Forever and Glad You Came. He was sitting in a chair but it was amazing, it looked like he was having the time of his life.”
Ms Mayne said she was 15 when she became a fan of The Wanted and had attended around 25 of the band’s concerts, adding: “He was my childhood really.”
Kevin George and Susan Potter, from Orpington, whose eldest son Daniel died from an astrocytoma Grade 3 brain tumour at the age of 22 in 2018, were among those waiting outside the church. Asked whether Parker’s campaigning for brain tumour research in his final months had affected her, Ms Potter, who was carrying a framed picture of her son, said: “Of course it did, especially the BBC One interview that they did and the way he dealt with it.
“It was exactly how my son dealt with it – exactly. In fact, at his funeral we played Bon Jovi, It’s My Life, because that kind of (message) – it’s my life, I am going to live it now, I am going to live it today.”
Mr George said: “It’s good. It is raising the profile as well. He has raised a lot of money for research, which is what it needs. A lot of other cancers have almost been eradicated. They need to have more research into brain tumours.”
Tom's wife Kelsey has also created a GoFundMe page to 'keep Tom’s memory alive forever' via donations to charitable causes, instead of sending flowers and cards. The page exceeded its £5,000 target within the first 12 hours and so far has received more than £54,000 in donations.
