A MUSICIAN who died of an extremely rare condition has given his body to help unearth a cure for the disease.

Rick Hammond, guitarist and singer with acoustic band Eye, was just 41 when he died from a nasopharyngeal cancer earlier this month.

He had bravely fought his illness – which affects the back of the nose and upper throat – for five years and decided that, rather than organise a funeral, he would donate his body to a prestigious London anatomy school. The cancer, usually found in Asian men, is so rare in this country Rick was one of only a handful of people to have undergone an operation for it.

Rick’s mum, Anna, said her son had refused to let the illness take over his life.

She said: “He never once complained or moaned.

“If anything, he struggled to talk about the illness – not because he couldn’t, but because it just didn’t fill his head.

“It was full of music and pictures and photographs instead.”

Anna added: “He said a funeral would mean nothing to him. He didn’t want everyone standing around looking gloomy.

“He said he wanted people to have a drink and listen to his music instead.”

Although the cancer affected Rick’s hearing and voice in the latter months, he persevered with his creative pursuits and continued working on music, even in his final days.

“His life revolved around music and being creative,” said Anna.

Rick, who grew up in London, moved to Weymouth around 20 years ago and was the older brother of Paul and Stuart.

He worked alongside Paul at the Tides youth project centre and also had a son, Terry, now 17.

A unique creative talent, Rick formed Eye in the 1990s and was regarded as one of the finest singer-songwriters in the area.

Rick’s parents recall him finishing his BA (Hons) Arts degree inside a year and writing poetry from the age of six.

Dad Terry said: “Rick did what he did but couldn’t care less about people patting him on the back for it.”

Rick also travelled extensively around the world, including trips to India, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Egypt and the USA. His operation in 2007, which involved cutting into his palate, gave him with a new lease of life and he enjoyed 18 relatively trouble-free months. Sadly headaches began to return last autumn and the illness eventually accelerated.

Rick underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy throughout his five-year battle.

Typically, anatomy schools don’t accept people who have had such treatment but the condition was so unusual they gratefully accepted his offer.

MUSICIANS from Weymouth have paid warm tributes to the ‘naturally gifted’ and ‘inspirational’ Rick Hammond, singer-songwriter with Eye.

Rick was known as a groundbreaking thinker and also a talented producer, masterminding Eye’s album, Don’t Sleep.

Marco Rossi, a former member of Eye, said: “He was just naturally gifted and wrote brilliant songs, really innovative stuff.

“He was always looking beyond and was restlessly driven to do the best he could.

“The album is genuinely brilliant and lyrically Rick was so different to anyone else around.

“He just seemed invincible and like nothing would ever stop him.”

Lucy Watkins, a member of Eye and also Rick’s partner of 18 years, said he was ‘a stream of ideas’.

She added: “He was just hugely creative and an endless source of inspiration.”

Renowned musician Ken Watkins said Rick was one of the ‘most creative and imaginative musicians around, with a voice second to none’.

Musician Chris Lonergan said: “Rick was one of those inspirational musicians who would get you playing things that you’d never had thought of yourself. He had an instinct for beautiful melody and harmony.”

The nasopharynx is an airspace lying at the back of the nose and above the soft part of the palate.

It connects the nose to the back of the mouth, allowing you to breathe through your nose and to swallow mucus produced by the lining membranes of the nose.

This type of cancer is rare in the west, but much more common in countries of the Far East.

Approximately 230 new cases of nasopharyngeal cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year. It can occur at any age, but is more likely to be seen in people aged between 50 and 60. It affects more men than women.