MUSIC can be a healer, whether it is an audience connecting to a certain song, or a songwriter being open an honest, people can always relate to a song.

For James Parkin, from Bramley, music was the driving force behind helping him through one of the most difficult periods of his life.

Singer/songwriter James, pictured, had set himself a task in January 2016 to write a song a month, which would form his first fully original album.

However, two weeks later the 42-year-old was diagnosed with cancer and so began a long journey to recovery.

He said: “When the doctors removed the tumour, they severed my facial nerves on the right side of my face leaving me paralysed on that side of my face.

“After this I had to have six more surgeries, some of which didn’t quite go to plan, but one of the biggest motivators was wanting to get out and perform.”

And it was this drive which has lead the father-of-one to release his latest record My Cure and gave him the opportunity to tell his story through song.

James added: “I found when I was playing gigs people would be looking at my face or asking what happened, so I thought if I addressed it through song, people could understand what I had gone through.

“That is what the song My Cure is for, it’s my way of tell my story through song.”

Despite the difficulties James faced, he told The Gazette that if it was not for that experience the album would not be what it is.

Since its release on 15 August, James’ Facebook followers have rocketed to more than 40,000. He added: “The response has been incredible and I now have eight gigs in the next 10 days. “ To mark reaching the 40,000 follower milestone, the guitar player shared a video of a never-before-seen song with long-time collaborator Eleanor Richards.

For more, visit jamesparkinmusic.com.