TRIBUTES have been paid to a pub landlord, musician and club compere who has died after contracting the coronavirus.

Tom Scully – who ran pubs including the Hop Pole and Rylands Recreation Club in the 80s and 90s – passed away in Meadow View Care Home in Penketh on Sunday, April 5, at the age of 78.

Also a popular compere at Greenalls Social Club until its closure, the granddad previously forged a long career in the Liverpool music scene for more than 30 years from the late 1950s onwards.

A singer in bands such as the Silver Set, with whom he toured Germany, Tom became a good friend of Ricky Tomlinson after working the circuit alongside the comedian and actor.

Daughter Carolyn Wright said: “He had a really good life and a fabulous career in music, he was the lead singer in all the bands that he was in and he had a massive following in Liverpool.

“He loved singing with a live band, he had a big following because he was so perfect at what he did – he just came alive when he was onstage.

“Somebody said to us that he could turn a boring Saturday night into an electrifying party as soon as he got onstage, the atmosphere used to change completely.

“My dad was the life and soul of the party, and I just want people to remember the fabulous person he was and how much he enjoyed everybody’s company and being with friends and family.

“There are a lot of people in Warrington who have got a lot of good things to say about him, and I’d really like them to know that he loved everybody else just as much as they loved him.

“We’re all going to miss him.”

Originally from Liverpool, Tom moved away from the city in back 1972 and then lived in Golborne for 58 years.

The dad-of-two and granddad-of three leaves behind wife Margaret after 57 years of marriage.

Warrington Guardian:

Tom and Margaret with grandkids Lucy Farrington and Jenson and Lewis Wright

Carolyn added: “I was there with him holding his hand when he passed away peacefully.

“It’s such a sad way to go, but it’s an unprecedented time.

“We are devastated at his loss and the current situation, which makes it harder when so many people cannot pay their respects to him and celebrate what a fabulous man he was.

“However, we plan to have a celebration of his life where all family and friends can come together to give him the send-off he most certainly deserves once they can.”