Tribute song for Bristol boy Michael

The sound of pan pipes mingles with violins and a piano, as the words which Sheila Cooper carried with her for five decades fill the room.

The words are from a poem written about her eldest son, Michael, who was born in 1953 with cerebral palsy and died aged just five.

Only after Sheila's death, at the age of 76, did her family discover that she had been carrying the poem with her for nearly five decades in a pocket of her handbag, together with a small black-and-white photograph of Michael aged about eight months.

Glen Cooper – Michael's younger brother – contacted the Evening Post earlier this year to tell the story of his mother's devotion.

The poem has been turned into a song by Bristol composer Andy Horrell, who, after seeing the Post's article, enlisted singer Leonie Martin to perform it to with his Synclub Philharmonic Orchestra.

As the CD plays in the sitting room of his home in Downend, Glen, 48, observes: "My mum would have been very, very proud to think that someone had written a song about Michael. He was on the planet for just five years, but he left his mark. The lady was moved by Michael to write the poem, and now Andy has been moved to turn the poem into a song."

His father Fred, 85, adds: "It's a beautiful ballad. It's very good, and it gets better every time I hear it."

The poem, called To Michael, was written by Prudence Hosegood, who used to look after Michael at her home in Westbury-on-Trym to give Sheila a break for a few hours.

Andy, who has run the EMIS music shop in Mangotsfield for more than 20 years, has included her name in the lyrics credit on the CD cover.

He says: "It didn't seem appropriate to change the poem, and luckily I didn't need to alter anything to make it work as a song.

"I could see straight away that it could work, and it then took me about a day to write the music. Recording it was more time consuming. It took about three weeks, as I had to make sure I'd got all the instruments into place. Only then did I make contact with Glen, as I wanted to make sure I could make it work as a song before I got in touch."

Andy recorded the song in the studio at his home using his virtual orchestra, in which he plays all the instruments. He then recorded Leonie's vocals in a studio above his shop. "I knew her already as a singer, and I thought she'd be the perfect vocalist for this type of song."

Glen, a train manager based at Temple Meads, adds: "Andy is a creator and a visionary. What he has conjured up from a few found words is truly remarkable.

"I was very flattered to find that Andy had gone to this trouble. It's more than I could have expected anyone to do. We all know that stirring the water in a muddy pond can have its drawbacks, so it was with much trepidation that I first approached the Evening Post with this, what I felt was a very moving but personal and at times quite a distressing story."

He explains that Mrs Hosegood, the daughter of a tea planter, had a large house with a conservatory in which Michael used to enjoy sitting while she showed him flowers and played music to him.

"We'd love to hear from anyone who knew Prudence. It would be nice to make contact with her family," he says.

Michael was born at St Brenda's Nursing Home in Bristol on December 4, 1953, and suffered oxygen starvation which left him with cerebral palsy.

"It was always very difficult for my mother to talk about – she always blamed herself, even though that wasn't the case," says Glen.

The extent of Sheila's dedication to her eldest son became clear when Glen and his father were going through her possessions earlier this year, following her death in 2008.

The poem and the photograph of Michael were in an envelope in a pocket of Sheila's handbag.

"She did all she could for him. She loved him and he knew that she loved him. She never forgot him," he says.

He wasn't born like other children

Not as competent and bright

He could not talk or walk, could not even read and write

But his little face would brighten,

To the music of a band

And flowers gave him pleasure

When he held them in his hand

And he overflowed with happiness,

Though hindered from the start

Only his parents knew the warmth

Of love within his heart.