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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Tom Parker's bond with two The Wanted bandmates who were ushers at his wedding

Tom Parker was surrounded by his loved ones when he died, including his The Wanted bandmates.

The much-loved singer tragically passed away on Wednesday after a battle with terminal brain cancer glioblastoma with his wife Kesley at his side as well as his fellow The Wanted stars.

Just weeks before his death, Tom was doing what he loved most up on stage with Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran and Jay McGuinness.

As well as supporting the boys backstage on the band's recent comeback tour, Tom appeared in front of their adoring fans for a brief appearance on stage.

At what tragically turned out to be his final ever performance in Liverpool, Max hailed Tom as a "true hero" and thanked him for making such beautiful memories.

Having formed in 2009, The Wanted sold over 900,000 records, had three platinum albums, two sold-out arena tours and two UK number one singles with All Time Low and Glad You Came.

The Wanted's Tom Parker with bandmates Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran and Jay McGuinness. (PA)

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They decided to temporarily split up in 2014 so they could take part in solo projects before reuniting last year.

Tom was close with all of his bandmates - and two of them were ushers at his wedding to wife Kelsey at Ridge Farm in Surrey in July 2018.

In an interview with OK! Magazine, Tom said: "It’s weird, I emailed all the boys a few months ago and asked them to be ushers. As we’ve not all been together since 2014, I thought my wedding might have been a nice moment for it.

"Siva and Nathan said they’d like to but they didn’t know what they were doing at that time. Then it got closer and I needed their suit sizes. Siva said no and Nathan didn’t reply. It is what it is."

Tom explained that while they were all good friends he was definitely closest with Max and Jay as they loved having a night out on tour.

"We all got on in the band, but I was closer to Max and Jay; it was usually us three who went out and got smashed on tour. I’m happy they were there."

The entire band rallied round Tom when he announced his devastating diagnosis and they even started researching his condition.

The Wanted boys were very close (Getty Images for PCA)

Max led the online well-wishes, writing: "You've always been one in a million. I love you Tom, let's get popping.

"You will beat this mate. You're TOM PARKER. Love you."

And Tom told OK! magazine his bandmates have been scouring the internet for information about his inoperable brain cancer.

"Obviously all the boys were as shocked as we were. They are gutted by the news, but they’ve been incredibly supportive," he said.

"Jay has been round to see us a few times since we got the news and is reading up on everything he can and Max was here last week.

"Siva and Nathan obviously live a lot further away, but all four of the boys have been texting regularly and sending through different articles and possible treatments and therapies that they’re all reading about."

Tom joined his bandmates on The Wanted's final tour despite the agony of his cancer battle.

Ahead of the string of UK dates, Tom admitted he was 'petrified' to perform again in front of thousands of fans after therapy left him exhausted and unable to walk.

Then just before the tour was due to start, the father-of-two was offered the chance to fly to Spain for revolutionary cancer treatment at private hospital in the Costa Del Sol which he could not turn down.

Tom spent a whole week in a private hospital in the hope to become fit enough for his band's comeback shows and the others started as a four-piece before he was ready to return.

From arranging a special throne for Tom to sit onstage when he could no longer walk, wearing matching sunglasses in solidarity and even sharing a bed with him as they hopped from hotels, Tom's friends were there for him throughout.

Close friend Max heaped praise on Tom as he shared a snap of him in his chair, with the caption "I mean… Come on," along with a heart eyes emoji to express his admiration for his pal.

Following the news of Tom's devastating passing, his bandmates released a heartbreaking statement as they described the dad-of-two as their 'brother'.

A tribute posted to the band's official social media pages read: "Max, Jay, Siva, Nathan and the whole Wanted family are devastated by the tragic and premature loss of our bandmate Tom Parker, who passed away peacefully at lunchtime today surrounded by his family and his band mates.

"Tom was an amazing husband to Kelsey, and father to Aurelia and Bodhi. He was our brother, words can’t express the loss and sadness we feel.

"Always and forever in our hearts."

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