Bradley Simpson, lead singer with British pop-rock band The Vamps, has generously donated a baby grand piano to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and marked its unveiling on Friday 3 May by surprising patients and families at the hospital and performing a private gig, alongside his band-mates James McVey, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans.

Bradley, from Sutton Coldfield, is a long-time supporter of the hospital and charity. Keen to share his love of music with its children and young people, he has donated his personal piano to the hospital for patients to enjoy. To personalise the design, he commissioned local artist Graham Kershaw to ‘revamp’ the instrument, which incorporated colourful handprint designs made by patients who won a special art competition run by the hospital.

The Vamps are in town for the latest leg of their UK and Ireland Tour and will play to thousands of adoring fans at Arena Birmingham on Friday (3 May) night. Before heading to their evening gig, the band made an impromptu stop at the hospital to perform a couple of their hit songs for patients and staff.

Alongside artist Graham, Bradley then unveiled the piano to the competition winners and other patients. The instrument will now sit pride of place in the entrance of Waterfall House, the hospital’s new £37.5m state-of-the-art building, which is home to the UK’s first Rare Diseases Centre for children and a combined inpatient and outpatient Oncology and Haematology Centre. Patients and families will now be able to enjoy a tinkle on the ivories, whilst they wait for appointments.  

Bradley Simpson said: “Music has always been a great source of joy in my life and has allowed me to express my creativity. I wanted to share that with the patients here at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, by donating my piano. Having the lads here to perform alongside me was great and to see all the kids smiling and enjoying themselves was ace. I’m really pleased with how the piano turned out – it looks fantastic and I hope the patients will enjoy it for years to come.”

Louise McCathie, Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We are so grateful to Bradley for his passion and dedication to our patients. This beautiful piano, which he has so generously donated, will put a smile on the face of everyone that uses it and will create a lovely musical legacy for us here at the hospital.

“The performance was a fantastic moment in our history, as this is the first music event of its kind we’ve held here in our amazing new building. We’re so thrilled and thankful The Vamps have chosen to support us in this way. Our patients and staff were so excited – there was a real buzz around the hospital – and everyone was singing and dancing along to the music. It was a lovely and emotional sight to see.”

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the UK’s leading specialist paediatrics centre, caring for 90,000 sick children and young people every year. It is also the world leader in some of the most advanced treatments, complex surgical procedures and cutting-edge research and development.