Tom Parker 's first brush with fame came long before he joined boyband The Wanted.
The singer has tragically died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer glioblastoma.
The dad-of-two's death has left his loved ones and fans around the world devastated.
And Tom already had a legion of fans years before he joined the group in 2009.
Tom had actually left university after a year to join a Take That tribute act, starring as Mark Owen in Take That 2.
He'd been studying geography at Manchester Metropolitan University when he left his studies behind to tour the north of England with the group in the hopes of launching a professional singing career.
Looking back on his time in the tribute, one fan shared a snap of him doing his best Mark Owen.
They wrote: "This is when I first met @TomParker He was in a Take That tribute band at a holiday park I worked at. We partied hard that night and Tom ran wild in his pants! Life and soul of the party. So incredibly sad the card he and his family have been dealt, just incomprehensible".
The tribute group, now called Rule The World, also paid tribute to Tom.
They tweeted: "We’re extremely saddened to hear of the passing of our ex band member @TomParker
"When we first started our tribute (Take That 2), Tom was our Mark Owen before joining @thewanted.
"Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this extremely sad time."
His former bandmate Chris O'Gorman penned: "Years ago I was in a Take That tribute band with Tom Parker (which was insanely fun.. but that’s another story). Then many many years later I was vlogging on the press line at the jingle bell ball & @thewanted were there…
"I was sure Tom wouldn’t remember me, but he saw me, stopped the press line to come over and say hi, gave loads of his time to chat to me even though I was a total nobody with a flipcam standing next to actual reporters. I always remembered how sweet that was of him. RIP Tom"
Tom also auditioned for X Factor in 2007, but failed to get past the first round.
It was in 2009 when Tom headed along to mass auditions for a boyband and was selected alongside Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, Max George and Jay McGuiness to become The Wanted.
They launched to huge success, with their debut singe All Time Low going straight to number one, leaving Tom and Max in tears.
Tom's heartbroken wife Kelsey announced yesterday that he'd died.
She wrote on Instagram : "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we confirm Tom passed away peacefully earlier today with all of his family by his side.
"Our hearts are broken.
"Tom was the centre of our world and we can’t imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence.
"We are truly thankful for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we all unite to ensure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children.
"Thank you to everyone who has supported in his care throughout, he fought until the very end. I’m forever proud of you."
