Adam Barry remembered five years on from his tragic death with local music event

On April 25th 2020, during the point of the Coronavirus Lockdown when we were all able to go out for an hours exercise, a 15-year old, named Adam, decided to go out for a short bike ride. At the time, roads were deserted due to the impact of the pandemic, and, as Adam was riding his bike, in the designated bike late in Risley, just a few minutes away from the family home in Sandiacre, it should have been the safest bike ride ever. Tragically, this was not the case.

Adam had only been gone for about 10 minutes, when, heading back home, when he was hit and left for dead by a drunk driver who had been to an illegal street party, leaving Adam's family devastated, after an horrific incident.

His parents described that devastation as "truly unimaginable" adding, "No words can describe the utter heart wrenching turmoil that was left in its wake."

In a statement from Beverley Barry, issued over five years later, they said: "We are still left numb and we will never be able to comprehend why our beautiful boy Adam was killed in such a senseless, selfish and cowardly way.

"Adam was the love, light, laughter and music of our lives and even though we were bereft of his ever loving, kind and happy presence, we knew we needed to focus on ensuring that his memory lived on, so we started working on creating The Adam Barry Foundation and in 2021 we were granted Registered Charity status."

So far, approximately £50,000 has been raised with funds donated to the Bereavement Counselling Department at a local hospice, and The Adam Barry Music Fund at Friesland School where Adam was a student.

Adam was the music of his family's lives, having taught himself how to play guitar during lockdown and had started having lessons from his music teacher at Friesland which were received online. He loved David Bowie and Marc Bolan T-Rex and would be practicing their songs on the guitar day and night, "literally 'tll his fingers bled", his family said.

In his memory, a music event is being held at The Derbyshire County Cricket Club on Saturday 20th September. Details can be found at www.adambarry.foundation where you'll find a link to purchase tickets. You can also search for The Adam Barry Foundation on Facebook.

The evening is set to be a fabulous mixture of showcasing up and coming young musicians (some from Friesland School) as well as established professionals including Paytron Saint.

Beverley concluded: "We are so thankful to everyone that’s been involved in bringing this all together for us and we know Adam will be made up and will be there, rocking away with his guitar and loving every minute!"