Tom Parker
Parker in 2013
Born
Thomas Anthony Parker

(1988-08-04)4 August 1988
Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Died30 March 2022(2022-03-30) (aged 33)
Bromley, London, England
OccupationSinger
Spouse
Kelsey Hardwick
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2
Musical career
Genres
Years active2009–2022
Formerly ofThe Wanted

Thomas Anthony Parker (4 August 1988 – 30 March 2022) was an English singer, best known as a member of the boy band the Wanted. In 2013, Parker appeared with his bandmates in the E! channel reality television series The Wanted Life.[1] Alongside the Wanted, Parker released three studio albums and achieved two number one singles on the UK Singles Chart. After the band's hiatus in 2014, he embarked on a solo career.

In October 2020, at the age of 32, Parker was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. The Wanted reunited in September 2021, but after a sudden deterioration in his condition, Parker died of complications from glioblastoma on 30 March 2022, at the age of 33.

Early life

Parker was born and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester.[2] He learned to play the guitar at the age of sixteen after trying out his older brother's guitar. He then went on to audition for The X Factor, but did not get past the first round.[3] He went to Manchester Metropolitan University and studied Geography, but dropped out in pursuit of a professional singing career.[4] Parker joined a Take That tribute band known as Take That II and toured Northern England, before joining the Wanted in 2009.[5]

Career

Main article: The Wanted
Parker (second from right) alongside his bandmates of the Wanted

In 2009 a mass audition was held by Jayne Collins to form a boy band, after successfully launching Parade and the Saturdays.[6][7] Parker auditioned and was selected as one of five members, along with Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, Max George, and Jay McGuiness out of the thousands of others who auditioned. The band was formed and together they worked on their debut album before finding a name for their band, the Wanted.[8] Their debut single "All Time Low" was released on 25 July 2010 and debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. They went on to have further hits with songs like "Heart Vacancy", "Glad You Came", "Chasing the Sun" and "I Found You". In 2013, in support of a crossover appeal to the American music market, the group starred in their own reality series on E!.[9] The series, The Wanted Life only aired for one season.

The Wanted announced their decision to break up in January 2014.[10] Parker, as a member of the band has sold over 12 million records worldwide.[citation needed]

Parker was also an avid DJ, and collaborated with Richard Rawson on a track called "Fireflies", which was released in August 2014.[11][12] In May 2015, he took part in the UK version of Celebrity MasterChef and was eliminated during the semi-finals of the competition.[13][14][15] In October 2015, he released a solo single titled "Undiscovered" along with his own website and tour dates.[16] In February 2016 it was confirmed that he was to replace Tina Hobley on the Channel 4 show The Jump after she fell on her arm and dislocated her elbow.[17] He eventually finished third in the series.[18]

In 2017 Parker was cast as Danny Zuko in the UK tour of the musical Grease.[19][20] He put his wedding on hold for the tour.[21]

Personal life

Parker had been dating actress Kelsey Hardwick since 2009. They got engaged at Chewton Glen on 16 March 2016,[22] and married in 2018.[23] Their daughter was born in July 2019[24][25] and their son was born in October 2020.[26][27]

Illness and death

On 12 October 2020, Parker announced that he had been diagnosed with an inoperable grade IV glioblastoma, a type of brain tumour. He suffered a seizure in July and was put on the waiting list for an MRI scan, later suffering a seizure on a family trip.[25] In January 2021, Parker posted to Instagram that his tumour had been "significantly reduced" and that he was continuing his treatment. In September, Parker held a special charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. The event was called "Inside My Head", and featured artists such as Becky Hill, McFly, Liam Payne, and the first performance with his Wanted bandmates since they announced their hiatus in 2014.[28] On 3 November, Parker announced on Twitter that his brain tumour was stable: "had the results from my latest scan ... and I'm delighted to say it is stable."[29]

Despite his previous claims of stability, Parker later experienced a sudden deterioration in his condition, and died of complications from glioblastoma at St Christopher's Hospice in Bromley, London, on 30 March 2022, at the age of 33.[30][31][32] Tributes to Parker were paid by his Wanted bandmates: Max George said he was "heartbroken beyond words"; and Nathan Sykes stated that "[their] lives would never be the same" whilst Siva Kaneswaran said he was "grateful that [he] had a chance to witness [Parker's] true courage".[33][34][35] Numerous other celebrities and public figures paid tribute. Additionally, an episode of Pointless Celebrities, which he and George had recorded the previous year, was brought forward in the schedules and was dedicated to him.[36]

Parker's funeral took place at St Francis of Assisi Church in Petts Wood on 20 April.[37] Following his death, his memoir Hope: My Inspirational Life was published on the 26 May.

Discography

For the discography with his band, see The Wanted discography.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Chasing the Saturdays Himself Episode: "#DeepFriedSats"[38]
The Wanted Life 7 episodes[39]
2015 Celebrity Masterchef Contestant Runner-up[40]
2018 The Real Full Monty Himself Participant[41][42]
2021 Tom Parker: Inside My Head Channel 4 documentary[43]
2022 Pointless Celebrities Contestant Jackpot winner; the episode was dedicated to him[36]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2022 National Television Awards Authored Documentary Nominated [44]

References

  1. ^ "The Wanted announce split to take time 'to pursue personal endeavours'". Hello!. 23 January 2014.
  2. ^ Dibbits, Kat (30 March 2011). "The Wanted have a scream at Manchester show". The Bolton News. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Tom Parker: A look back at his career". BBC News. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Alastair Campbell in a spin as charity match turns ugly". The Daily Telegraph. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Who are the members of the take that tribute band 'take that 2'?". Kgb Answers. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  6. ^ Bain, Ellissa (31 March 2022). "Inside Tom Parker's net worth as The Wanted star dies from brain tumour". HITC.
  7. ^ ""As a five, we hadn't seen each other since our very last gig..." The Wanted talk coming back together and their new Greatest Hits collection". HMV.
  8. ^ Copsey, Robert (23 January 2014). "Where did it go wrong for The Wanted?". Digital Spy.
  9. ^ Garibaldi, Christina (31 May 2013). "'The Wanted Life' Is 'Not for My Mom's Eyes,' Max George Shares". MTV News. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  10. ^ Wyatt, Daisy (22 January 2014). "The Wanted split up: Boy band announce break". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Richard Rawson feat. Tom Parker "Fireflies" Video – ColoRising".
  12. ^ "Richard Rawson Featuring Tom Parker 'Fireflies' by Jak FrSH | Videos". Promonewstv.
  13. ^ Travis, Ben (14 May 2015). "Celebrity MasterChef 2015: full list of contestants revealed, including Rylan Clark, Sarah Harding, and Chesney Hawkes". Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  14. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker Dies at 33". American Songwriter. 30 March 2022.
  15. ^ Lee, Janet W. (30 March 2022). "Tom Parker, the Wanted Singer, Dies at 33".
  16. ^ "Listen to "Undiscovered" and "Finally" By Tom Parker". 19 November 2015.
  17. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker to replace Tina Hobley on The Jump". Radio Times.
  18. ^ Bennion, Chris (16 March 2017). "The Jump: Ben Cohen beats favourite Tom Parker to win the final – plus other talking points". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  19. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker Cast in Grease Tour". 25 January 2017.
  20. ^ Bourne, Dianne (11 March 2017). "Tom Parker on making his stage debut in Manchester, and getting The Wanted back together". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  21. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker put his wedding on hold for Grease musical tour - full story". Hello!. 4 October 2018.
  22. ^ Cox, Cailyn (22 October 2013). "Tom Parker's engagement proposal is postponed". SheKnows. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  23. ^ "The Wanted wedding! Boyband star Tom Parker marries Kelsey Hardwick – pictures". Manchester Evening News. 28 July 2018.
  24. ^ The Wanted's Tom Parker Reveals Name of Baby No. 2 - E! Online (eonline.com)
  25. ^ a b Savage, Mark (12 October 2020). "The Wanted star diagnosed with brain tumour". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  26. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker becomes father for second time after brain tumour diagnosis". BBC News. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  27. ^ Boucher, Phil (18 November 2020). "The Wanted's Tom Parker and Wife Share Adorable Photos of Newborn Son Bodhi: 'We Are Now Complete'". people.com.
  28. ^ Waddell, Lily (8 September 2021). "The Wanted reunite for gig amid Tom Parker's brain tumour battle". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Tom Parker: The Wanted star shares emotional update as he tells fans brain tumour is 'under control'". Sky News. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  30. ^ Waddell, Lily (30 March 2022). "Tom Parker dead: The Wanted star dies aged 33 after cancer". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Tom Parker's widow Kelsey in tears as she shares 'romantic' conversation before his death". Daily Mirror. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  32. ^ "The Wanted singer Tom Parker dies from brain cancer aged 33". TheGuardian.com. 30 March 2022.
  33. ^ "Tom Parker: The Wanted bandmate Max George pays tribute after 'best bud' dies at 33". Sky News.
  34. ^ "Tom Parker Remembered As 'Lovely, Very Special Man', As The Wanted's Siva Leads Tributes To His 'Brother'". HuffPost UK. 30 March 2022.
  35. ^ Koutsounia, Anastasia (31 March 2022). "The Wanted members share heartbreaking tributes to Tom Parker". Digital Spy.
  36. ^ a b Seddon, Dan (2 April 2022). "Pointless viewers moved by Tom Parker and Max George's appearance on celebrity special". Digital Spy.
  37. ^ "The Wanted's Tom Parker Honored in Funeral 3 Weeks After His Death". 20 April 2022.
  38. ^ "#DeepFriedSats". IMDb.
  39. ^ Bibel, Sara (6 February 2013). "E! Announces New Series 'The Wanted Life' With International Pop Sensation The . Wanted". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
  40. ^ "Celeb MasterChef has an amazing lineup". Digital Spy. 13 May 2015.
  41. ^ "Meet the male celebrities stripping off for The Real Full Monty Live 2018". Radio Times.
  42. ^ "Who are the women baring all for The Real Full Monty: Ladies' Night?". Radio Times.
  43. ^ "Tom Parker: Inside My Head - All 4". www.channel4.com.
  44. ^ Morris, Lauren (24 May 2022). "NTA 2022 longlist revealed as David Tennant and Sex Education nominated". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.

External links

The Wanted
Authority control databases
Categories