Coldplay record special song for Cardiff mum whose son and husband died five days apart
Coldplay have recorded a special version of one of their biggest hits in honour of a mum who tragically lost her baby son and husband five days apart.
Rhian Mannings and her husband Paul Burke were overcome with grief when their one-year-old son George collapsed suddenly at home and died in hospital in February 2012.
He had undiagnosed pneumonia, which had displayed no symptoms.
Just five days later Paul took his own life after struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
Rhian has always believed that if proper bereavement support had been in place in the immediate aftermath of George's death, Paul would still be alive.
Since then, Rhian has worked to improve services for families affected by the sudden loss of a child.
Her charity 2 Wish Upon a Star, which she founded in 2012, works with every hospital emergency unit across Wales.
It also works with every coroner, mortuary, organ donation team and the Wales Air Ambulance to make sure no family misses out on support.
When a family in Wales suffers the sudden loss of a child, 2 Wish hands out memory boxes, offers counselling and an immediate support pathway in collaboration with health boards and police forces in Wales.
The charity has launched an app, called Sky Full of Stars, which allows grieving families to dedicate a star in a virtual sky to remember their loved ones.
Now it has been confirmed that Coldplay, whose drummer Will Champion was close friends with Paul, have recorded a special, stripped down version of Sky Full of Stars to use exclusively on the app.
''Paul and Will played hockey together in university and their relationship grew from there,'' Rhian said.
''When Paul died, Coldplay contacted me to say how sorry they were, and we've kept in touch ever since.
''They invited us to their concert in Cardiff where they dedicated the song Paradise to Paul, and now they have recorded this new version of Sky Full of Stars which is just beautiful.
''Just before they went on the Graham Norton Show, Chris Martin played a short version of the track on a piano which we will use on loop on the app.''
The app creates an augmented reality night sky, each of which can be made to represent the memory of a loved one.
Once opened, it will enable the viewer to see the sky and freely explore it by moving the camera.
Once in the virtual reality (VR) view each assigned star, when tapped, will bring up a model that contains the name of the person to which the star is dedicated, a special date and any message.
Rhian, who launched the app on what would have been Rhian and Paul's 13th wedding anniversary, said it had taken 12 months to get to this point.
''We loved the idea of the app, as family or friends, young or old, these stars are there as a reminder of the love we hold for those no longer with us.
''It's an opportunity for anyone who has lost a loved on to dedicate a star to them in a quick, simple way.
''It's a lovely way to provide comfort and support to those who are missing a loved one, and a way that siblings or younger children can see and communicate with the person they have lost.
''A sudden death is very difficult to cope with and we wanted to create an app that would help families from all over the world grieve, while also raising much-needed funds for the support we give in Wales.''
Each star bought for £10 will be added to a virtual galaxy which users can view globally regardless of location.
The user will be directed to a specific star using a search function that will allow them to enter the name of the person to whom it was dedicated.
''I hope the Sky Full of Stars app provides some solace to those who are suffering and to those who miss their loved ones.
''Our charity is all about supporting people in very difficult times and I hope people love this app as much as I do.''