Tom's music lives on

in Eileen's memory

EILEEN Critchley always thought her husband, Tom, had a great voice and pressed him to cut a CD.

The popular pub and club singer never got round to it, but then Eileen died suddenly from cancer -- and she now has two discs devoted to her memory.

The music Eileen cherished has now helped to raise £3,000 for the Christie hospital where she was successfully treated for breast cancer, and then the pancreatic cancer which took her life.

The donation includes takings from a family fun day at Tom's local pub, the Canal Duke, Tyldesley, at which he performed some of Eileen's songs in the evening.

First Tom, of, Burnside Close, Astley, recorded 'Because I Love You', a compilation of his late wife's best loved ballads, and has just produced a mini CD, 'Holding On To Love', featuring seven more classic tracks.

The first CD, which has 13 tracks including 'Hello',

'Wind Beneath My Wings' and 'Three Times a Lady', has sold 400 copies at £5 each for the Christie cancer centre.

On the mini CD Tom sings more classics such as The

Hungry Years, Love Is All, September Morn, Let Me Try Again and That's Life. It is selling for £3 a copy with proceeds again going to Christie's.

He said: "I'll do whatever I can to help Christie's because I know they did their best for Eileen."

After his wife developed breast cancer, Tom stopped performing regularly in pubs and clubs, but now he's happy to sing again - just for Eileen.

He added: "I've had such a lot of support from family and friends. People in the music business helped me with the CDs and one friend, who has a small recording studio, is encouraging me to make a single. That will be my next project - and hopefully I can raise even more cash for Christie's."

The hospital's regional appeals officer Rachel Roberts said: "The loss of Eileen was a terrible blow to Tom and he has shown a lot of courage in recording these CDs in her memory."

Both discs are available from Tom, tel 07977 223322. Email nidge@9burnside.freeserve.co.uk