Tom was a LION
The Wanted’s Max in tribute to bandmate
THE Wanted star Max George has paid tribute to his bandmate Tom Parker, hailing him as a “lion” who showed “courage and dignity” in his cancer fight.
Singer Tom, 33, died on Wednesday surrounded by his family and bandmates – 18 months after being told he had an inoperable brain tumour.
Heartbroken Max, 33, yesterday shared a series of photos of his pal on Instagram, alongside a letter to him.
He wrote: “Tom, my brother, my boy, my band mate, my best bud… You lit up so many lives all over the world but I can only speak on behalf of mine.
“From the minute I met you, I knew this was gonna be a special chapter in my life. I was right. We did everything together, some amazing things, some outrageous things.
“I’m so proud of what we achieved as bandmates and as brothers.”
And referring to Tom’s widow Kelsey, he added: “I’m proud I was there the night you met Kels. I remember saying to you, ‘You like her don’t you?’… you replied, ‘Bro, like you wouldn’t believe’.
“Thank you for choosing me as your friend. It was an honour from day one. I’m so grateful I was with you until the end. The courage and dignity I witnessed over the last few months surpassed the lion I already knew you were.”
He added: “Whatever I do, even on my darkest days, I can smile and say, ‘I shared the stage with Tom Parker’.” Weeks before his death, Tom performed with bandmates Max, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran and Jay Mcguiness on their comeback tour.
Nathan called Tom “the most passionate, funny, driven and inspiring person”.
And Siva wrote: “Thank you for letting us see you light up the world.”
Singers Ed Sheeran and Liam Payne, and boyband Blue, were also among those who paid tribute.
Tom, who wed Kelsey in 2018, leaves a daughter, Aurelia, aged two-and-ahalf, and 18-month-old son Bodhi.
I’m proud of what we achieved as bandmates and brothers