A talented musician described as a loving dad to two young children has died at the age of 33.

Popular Sam Parker, from Ramsgate, had spent much of his life travelling to various pubs across Thanet to perform live sets.

The former Dane Court Grammar schoolboy recently got engaged to his fiancée and was in the early stages of planning their wedding.

But a few months after moving to Ipswich to live with his partner, he developed pneumonia and was admitted to a local hospital, where he died a day later.

Friend Freddie Ryder said: “Everybody will have a good memory of Sam – he was a well-loved person.

“He never had a bad word to say about anybody; he was always happy and positive.

“He definitely made everybody’s lives better for being in it.

“Sam didn’t want to be the centre of attention and wasn’t a show-off, he enjoyed being around people and being a positive influence.”

Freddie, who had known Sam since primary school, says the dad-of-two attended Thanet College to study music.

The soloist is said to have become a popular singer and guitarist for his ability to take live requests when gigging.

“He had quite a lot of fans of his music because he had an ability to listen to a song and play it straight away,” Freddie, 32, added.

“He played quite a lot of gigs in Thanet for most of his life.

“He just enjoyed entertaining people; he wasn’t especially ambitious or looking to get particularly famous.”

Sam was taken to a hospital in Suffolk on Saturday, April 4, after developing suspected coronavirus symptoms.

But having suffered from a heart condition for a number of years, doctors have so far been unable to decide whether he had contracted the killer illness.

“It was a big shock because Sam’s 33,” Freddie continued. “You don’t expect things to come to an end so quickly.

“There are lots of things on the news about people being hospitalised or isolating, so it makes it a lot more real when it’s someone you’ve known all your life.

“The doctors initially said they were 99% sure it was coronavirus, but they later said they weren’t so certain. They said it was basically inconclusive.”

Freddie has set up a GoFundMe page to raise £750 for Sam’s children, aged eight and one.

To donate, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet