Famous faces turned out alongside friends and family at the vigil for a 21-year-old filmmaking student who was stabbed to death in a north London park. Madness frontman Graham 'Suggs' McPherson sang 'It Must Be Love' as balloons were released in memory of Finbar Sullivan, who was stabbed during a fight in Primrose Hill in the early evening of April 7.
Other musicians who attended the viewing point on Primrose Hill on Sunday evening included Paul Weller, Dexys Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, and The Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, according to organisers. Dozens of candles and bunches of flowers were placed at the gates to the park, along with pictures of Mr. Sullivan. Some of his favourite songs were sung, and a minute's silence was held.
Mr. Sullivan, known as Fin by his friends, was a student at the London Screen Academy. According to his father, he had gone to Primrose Hill to test a new camera he received for his birthday. Chris Sullivan said his son had ambitions to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, cameraman Michael Seresin, who worked on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Rambo III.
His father, a club promoter best known for founding the Wag Club in London, said after the vigil: 'This is subsequent to my son being stabbed very near this spot to death... on the 7th April. We decided to have a little tribute to him and get all these people together. I'm so impressed to see the diaspora of people, ages, races, colours and creeds, and they did us proud. So I think Finbar's legacy should be that, unity and love and peace.' He added that he was not surprised that hundreds of people turned out for the vigil, as his son was 'like a magnet for people.'
Mr. Sullivan described his son as 'full of jokes' and a 'really loving person,' adding: 'He was all I ever thought about. So it's like as if you have both your legs cut off, you know, you always remember they're gone, and you never forget them, but it will always be difficult to deal with. I'm not expecting an easy journey.' He also mentioned that his son had just worked with Vivienne Westwood's son Joe Corre on a film.
Three men have been charged with his murder: Ernest Boateng, 25, Alexis Bidace, 25, and Oliuwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, 27. A fourth man, Khalid Abdulqadir, 18, has been separately charged in relation to the same incident. He is charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a second alleged victim, violent disorder, and possession of a knife.
'This is the worst tragedy I could ever imagine,' his father said. 'He's my only son… I had him when I was 45. He can never be replaced.'
