Pete Kenny, a Leicester dad bereaved by suicide is launching his album ‘Beautiful Shining Perfect Boy’ in memory of his teenage son.
Pete lost his son Jamie to suicide in 2019. He was 17, just weeks short of his eighteenth birthday.
“I can’t tell you how devastating this is, not just for us but for our families, friends and neighbours, and Jim’s friends as well,” he said.
“He was bright, kind and thoughtful, our beautiful, shining perfect boy.”
Since then Pete and his partner Dinah, Jamie’s mum, have become committed to helping to prevent other young suicides and raising money for ‘Papyrus’ – a charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.
Pete said, “If we can help to save just one family going through the loss of a child this way, it will be worth it. “
“We will always carry the weight of Jamie’s loss, that deep sadness won’t leave us, we know. But if we can honour his memory and help others along the way, that will feel as if we are making a difference.”
Pete walked the wild and remote Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland in May 2022, ran the London Marathon and Leicester half that same year. Dinah did 52 open water ‘Swims for Jim’ and the couple organised a ‘Songs for Jamie’ fundraising concert in December that year.
They raised £18,000 in total.
Over the last year Pete has written and recorded an album of songs with his band ‘Just the Dust’ in Jamie’s memory
It’s called ‘Beautiful Shining Perfect Boy’ and it’s available on Bandcamp as a CD or a download.
The songs reflect a journey through grief, flowing their way through a landscape of entangled emotions, searing regret and a lingering sadness.
Pete and Dinah are also organising another ‘Songs for Jamie’ concert at The Musician, in Leicester on Sunday 7th April, 2.00 to 5.00 to launch the album.
The Songs for Jamie fundraising page is at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/peter-kenny-1701442038816
