The Wanted star makes devastating end-of-life confession after Tom Parker's death

Tom Parker's The Wanted bandmate Siva Kaneswaren has opened up on the effectof the death of the dad of two in March 2022 at the age of just 33, following an 18-month battle with an inoperable grade-four glioblastoma - a type of terminal brain tumour. Siva is supporting Memory Bank - a new art installation which explores and celebrates, through the first-hand experiences of brain cancer patients and their friends and family, the power of making every moment count, and it has caused him to reflect on his own experiences. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he revealed Tom's untimely death inspired him to face his own fears.

"Tom was squeezing life out every moment when he was diagnosed, and I was reminded after his passing how death teaches you how to live. Going forward, immediately after that, I signed up to do all the things I'm terrified of because it was not as scary as what he had gone through. Even though I was terrified, I did Celebrity SAS. I skated on knives on Dancing on Ice and got to the semi-final. I did a whole tribute to him on that show," he recalled.

"I did so many things that I was scared of. I did a theatre show because I wanted to learn Spanish, and suddenly a theatre show came in that you sing in Spanish. I did all that, all literally, straight after his passing. I also connected with my family again," he said, revealing that he had recently paid a surprise visit home to his native Ireland from his home in LA for his mother's birthday.

Reflecting on his final days with Tom acknowledges there were a lot of tears. "We got so close towards the end. We cleared the air. We said things we never thought we'd say to each other. We cried a lot together. Everything just seemed so small now, and all the problems we had - we always butted heads, we always had tempers - the memories we made together I'll cherish," he said.

Following Tom's death, Siva and the other members of The Wanted found themselves in the unusual position of having to grieve in public - something he discussed with one of the few people who would understand what it felt like.

"I was talking to Danny from The Script recently when I bumped to him in Malibu after a hike and he's also lost his brother from his band (The Script guitarist Mark Sheehan died in April 2023 at the age of 43) and I hadn't talked to anyone else who had the exact same experience as me in the public eye, and we were both just saying how bizarre it is to grieve in public.

"But sometimes the therapy itself is talking about it in public, just getting it out and just letting people know," he said. "It's not easy. I'm on a US tour with The Wanted 2.0, and every time I sing Gold Forever, the beginning of that song is Tom's piece; I have to talk about him. I have to get it out, because if I don't get it out, I just get so upset," he confessed.

He admitted that these feelings have led him to back the Memory Bank campaign. "One of the top fears of people who get glioblastoma is losing their memory. It happens very quickly. This installation brings awareness to positive memories.

"It connected with me because Tom Parker and his family literally called themselves the positive Parkers. We didn't do negativity or stress. We literally laughed all the way, and it really helped more than anything.

"When Tom got diagnosed, he was given six months to a year of life expectancy. He lasted for 18 months with different treatments. He did so much in 18 months. I got to witness a spiritual warrior."

The Memory Bank installation is displayed at Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford before being showcased at the GenesisCare Centre in Oxford later in the autumn. It is also available via the GenesisCare website. For more information, visit the website.