Singer Tom Parker has died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2020.
He rose to fame as a member of the pop group The Wanted, whose hits included “Glad You Came,” “All Time Low,” “Heart Vacancy” and “Lightning.”
He also played Danny Zuko in the Grease production that toured the UK in 2017. Here is a look back at his photography career. Formed in 2009, The Wanted released their debut album the following year and quickly gained a huge following, performing at events such as BBC Radio 1’s London Teen Awards 2010.
Glad you’re here, number one in the UK and number three on the US Billboard charts. But before joining the Anglo-Irish boy band, Bolton-born Parker faced a bitter rejection from ITV’s talent show The X Factor at the age of 16.
“It blew me away,” he later recalled, revealing that he was turned down before he reached the first chorus of a song of his choice. “I haven’t sung for two years.” Parker clearly loves live performances.
At the 2014 Fusion Festival, he jumped off the stage to sing up close to these fans. Whenever a record is signed, the band’s massive teenage following is always in effect.
The photo was taken at an event in Manchester to promote their 2012 single I Found You. Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes make up the rest of the group.
The group consists of good friends and colleagues. Here, Parker can be seen celebrating McGuinness’s 22nd birthday in 2012 at a London club where Paloma Faith DJs.
“You’re always one in a million,” McGuinness said on Instagram after Parker revealed his diagnosis.
In 2018, Parker appeared on ITV’s The Real Full Monty: Living With Former Rugby League Player Ugo Monye to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer. He was also on the Celebrity Masterchef in 2015, and the following year came third on Channel 4’s The Jump. Parker married Kelsey Hardwick in 2018.
They had a young daughter the following year and were expecting a second child when Parker’s diagnosis was made public.
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