Tom Parker ‘needed’ his band The Wanted to reunite to give him power in his fight with the deadly disease glioblastoma, says his wife Kelsey.
He was coming towards the end of his battle with his inoperable brain tumour, having been diagnosed with it in October 2020, and before he finally passed away aged 33 in March, he managed to get his group back together.
The boy band, who registered eight top-10 singles during their time together, had previously scheduled a 10th anniversary comeback tour to take place in 2020 after a six-year break, until the pandemic scuppered their plans, reports the Mirror.
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Kelsey said it was hugely important for her late husband to reform with bandmates Max George, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness and Siva Kaneswaran – who he referred to as his “brothers”.
They were then rocked by Tom’s heart-breaking news – in which he was given just 12 months to live – which led to all plans being put on hold indefinitely.
Kelsey told Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast: “I think even for him to get through the whole treatment, just everything… I think the the band getting back together was was massive for him.
“Tom loved work, he loved music. He needed that band to get back together. I think he needed the boys to be behind him again, to feel that strength from them. Because obviously, they were his brothers.”
Tom organised a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, called ‘In My Head – The Concert’, which featured stars such as Ed Sheeran, McFly, Becky Hill and Liam Payne and raised funds for charities Stand Up To Cancer and The National Brain Appeal.
The Wanted played, too, before they finally rescheduled their tour for early 2022, with opening dates in Glasgow and Newcastle.
And after undergoing three weeks of treatment out in Spain, Tom joined the rest of the boys on stage in Bournemouth.
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Meanwhile, last week, Kelsey shared a tribute to Tom on their daughter Aurelia Rose’s third birthday.
She wrote: “Well my baby girl is 3 and it’s been three months since we lost Tom – two big milestones.
“Three years with our amazing Rae has absolutely flown by. Three months without Tom has felt like a lifetime, but yet it feels like only yesterday he was here with me.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
