A BARNARD Castle home-coming provided a singer with the inspiration he needed to complete an acoustic tribute to his late stepfather.
Former Teesdale School pupil Thomas Walliker, 25, hopes his poignant acoustic track, Hello Goodbye, will appeal to others who have suffered the death of a love one.
He said: “I have been making music for ten years, but most of it is spoken word, hip hop influenced, but this is completely different.
“This is an acoustic track with only me playing the guitar and it’s a kind of love note to my stepdad, Raymond Bottley, who passed away when I was 14.
“He had a massive influence on me and I still miss him now.”
Mr Walliker, of Thorngate Wynd, moved back to Barney in January after taking a break from his graphics college course in York to work on his music.
He added: “At first I thought it would be really difficult to adjust to living in a small town again after living in a city, but it’s been amazing being back in Barney and it’s just what I needed.”
In four short months Mr Walliker not only penned the tribute to his stepfather, but recorded it and created a unique graphic for the single, which was released last month, as well as producing two hip hop style EPs.
Mr Walliker said: “I have been wanting to do this song for a long time, but I didn’t have the confidence to put it together and put it out into the world until recently.
“Some of my friends have said it really moved them and it means a lot to them as well as they’ve lost someone and don’t know how to say goodbye.
“I just hope everyone who has suffered loss will find some comfort from it.”
Hello Goodbye is available to stream download from all major online platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.
