Tom Parker - Hope: My Inspirational Journey

With thanks to Grant Brydon

First published in the UK by Blink Publishing

An imprint of Bonnier Books UK

4th Floor, Victoria House,

Bloomsbury Square,

London, WC1B 4DA

Owned by Bonnier Books

Sveavgen 56, Stockholm, Sweden

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Hardback 978-1-788-707-16-9

Trade Paperback 978-1-788-707-17-6

Ebook 978-1-788-707-18-3

Audiobook 978-1-788-707-19-0

All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, transmitted or circulated in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission in writing of the publisher.

A CIP catalogue of this book is available from the British Library.

Designed by Envy Design Ltd

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Copyright Tom Parker, 2022

Tom Parker has asserted his moral right to be identified as the author of this
Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material
reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the
publishers would be glad to hear from them.

Blink Publishing is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

www.bonnierbooks.co.uk

Say my name like its the last time, live today
like its your last night.

We want to cry but we know its alright, because
Im with you and youre with me, butterflies,
butterflies, we were meant to fly.

In Loving Memory
of Tom Parker

Tom, I miss you so much. I dont know where you are now, but I am so honoured we got to spend time together on earth.

An honour.

I keep reminding myself to be grateful for that time, and I really, really am. I am.

You knew how to live life, fearlessly and with heart. You were so reassuring to be around. What a man. I cant believe that its all memories now. Every single memory now is priceless. Life is a gift and you made use of yours in the most powerful ways: you made your dreams come true, you found the love of your life, you brought two beautiful humans down to earth, you sang so, so powerfully, and beautifully, and that will never die.

Everyone remembers the day they met you. You didnt slip into anyones life quietly, you hit them like a ton of bricks and looked them square in the eyes. You talked to absolutely everyone as if they were no more and no less than you. What a man. You really took your place in the world and you are so loved. I just wish you had more time, thats selfish. You did amazing things. I just miss you. Thank you for always being there for me, without fail, always turning up, always looking out, always setting me straight lol. Okay, enough. Give em Hell.

I love you forever. From JayBird.

@birdspotting

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. Im so proud of what we achieved as band mates and as brothers. Im also proud that I was there the night you met Kels. I remember saying to you, You like her, dont you? To which you replied, Bro, like you wouldnt believe. You two really are like peas and carrots.

Thank you for choosing me as your friend. It was an honour from day one. Im so grateful I was with you until the very end. The courage and dignity I have witnessed over the last few months surpassed the lion I already knew you were.

The huge hole now left in my life will forever be there, but I know your spirit will live on through your two beautiful babies, your wonderful wife, our music, your fans, and in my heart.

Im heartbroken beyond words right now and I cannot even begin to imagine what the future holds without you, but whatever I do going forward, even on my darkest days, I can always smile and say, I shared the stage with Tom Parker.

I am going to miss you so much. I love you mate.

Always. George

@MaxGeorge

Hey Tom, I hope youre having a blast up there. I am so grateful that I had a chance to witness your true courage.

It has been an absolute pleasure, Tommy Boy. Thank you for letting us see you light up the world. Talk to you soon and see you later. Love you brother x

@SivaOfficial

Tom was the most passionate, funny, driven and inspiring person you could wish to meet, and Im so grateful that I was given the honour of being a part of his journey, and even more grateful I can call him my friend as well as one of four brothers. He was the reason that the band came back together and the last six months have been the greatest pleasure of my life. Our lives will never be the same Thank you Tom for bringing your light to the world. I hope we meet again one day, rest well, brother.

@NathanSykes

CONTENTS

BY NOREEN PARKER

A s parents, we hope that our children reach and achieve all they are capable of, realising their hopes and dreams and in some respects, a tiny bit of ours; the threads of those dreams and hopes layered into the very fabric of their being.

We strived for our two boys to have the philosophy that anything is possible with the right knowledge, self-belief and application all the things that we, as parents, initially had to scramble for as we progressed as a family.

Tom was the epitome of that optimism, coming into the world on 4 August 1988 in a hurry: a two-hour labour and there he was. He was placed in one of those plastic cribs, where he promptly raised himself up on his arms to have a good nosey around the room. The elderly nurse had to quickly rush over to him as his head was nearly over the edge! The sides of the crib were quite deep, so this was no mean feat for a newborn. I remember her words, Well, it looks like this ones been here before. Those words resonated with me because they felt as if they rang true; as if he couldnt wait to get started, no time to hang around. He stayed awake for most of his first day on Earth, much to the amusement of everyone on the ward. And the die was cast: he wasnt going to miss anything, ever! He was the same since never wanting to miss anything, alert and aware of everything around him.

Tom was a happy baby with lots of energy, always wanting to play and be entertained. He walked at ten months old (in an era when it was frowned upon to allow babies to walk before a year old as this would surely cause bandy legs) but there was no stopping him. He was off and that was that and with no bandy legs! His speech development was the very same he learned to speak so quickly and started to sing almost alongside his speaking, humming songs in perfect tune (unlike his tone-deaf mother!). His tuneful voice was most definitely passed down from his dad, who was a great singer. He adored travelling in the car, listening to the radio and my music tapes. (Is it child cruelty to force your little ones to listen to Genesis, Motown, rock music and Northern Soul?) He sang his heart out to all of them and knew every word and beat at five years old, much to the annoyance of his older brother Lewis, who preferred a more sedentary drive to school. In fact, the only thing to mar this perfect picture was my vocal input and even at that tender young age, Tom would say, Mum, dont sing, please!