Tom Parker’s memoir reveals details of bullying that led him to seek solace in music
Tom Parker shared details of the bullying he faced in school in his new memoir Hope: My Inspirational Life.
The 33-year-old singer, who died of brain cancer earlier this year, revealed that his bullies taunted him for his appearance and stole his backpack in school.
Parker said that he loved to sing as a child but “in my first year I started wanting to fit in with the cool crowd.
“I began to hide parts of myself and stopped singing as much,” he said. “I learned the hard way that the key to a more fulfilling lifestyle is to just be yourself.
“I had to put up with a lot of s*** in order to be accepted by the popular kids. It wasn’t overtly bullying, but general toxicity.”
The Wanted’s singer went on to reveal how he was teased because of his height.
“I literally wasn’t called Tom throughout the whole of my time at school,” he said. “The final straw came when my backpack full of GCSE work was stolen in Year 11, and it took me a week to get it back.
“By the time I discovered my notes all over the muddy cricket pitch, none of it was readable anymore.”
Parker died in March 2022 surrounded by his family and bandmates.
The singer was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour in October 2020. At the time, Parker said he was “devastated” and in “complete shock”.
Parker found fame in 2009 as a member of boyband The Wanted alongside Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaren, Max George and Jay McGuinness.
The group released three albums and 12 UK top 20 singles including “All Time Low” and “Glad You Came” before splitting in 2014.
In September, the band announced that they were reuniting seven years after splitting and releasing a greatest hits album titled Most Wanted, as well as performing at a charity concert.
Speaking to The Independent, Parker said that they’d announced the concert in hope of raising awareness about the lack of funding for brain cancer research and called the fan response “incredible”.
“I think that’s the beauty of social media these days,” he said. “That was our intention – to try and raise as much awareness as possible about this disease.”
In March, they completed a two-week arena tour across the UK. However, Parker was not able to perform at the earlier shows as he underwent cancer treatment.
