A HEAVY metal devotee and popular DJ who never missed an opportunity to sneak a bit of ‘Screamo’ into his gigs will be honoured on the first anniversary of his death at two club nights in the town.

Tom “Himself” Humber died on June 14 last year at the age of 32, after suffering a heart attack.

His friends and fellow DJs will remember the ‘quietly passionate’ man at a pair of shows tomorrow and on Thursday featuring some of his favourite bands and metal classics.

The gigs will act as fundraisers to cover the cost of a headstone for Tom, of Wichelstowe, whose father died before he could order one for his son.

DJ Darren Whiting, with whom Tom collaborated at the former Furnace Club, was heavily involved in organising the tribute nights and will be performing.

“Tom was very much loved by a lot of people,” said the 41-year-old known as DJ Dust.

“He loved his metal music and hard core, heavy stuff, but he was also incredibly diverse and open to electronica music. We had a collaborative partnership and it culminated in some club nights at the Furnace, Nightshift nights.

“He was a genuinely nice bloke and he never had a bad word to say about people. All his friends and a few local bands have all come together to put on two events to raise money for a headstone for him. I believe the target is £500. If we raise more we will keep the money and give it to charity.”

Tom started his radio career with Swindon 105.5 in 2008, just a few months after its inception. There, he learned the tricks of the trade and was trained by founder Shirley Ludford herself before heading the Late Shift Rock Show.

He remained at the station for three years before leaving to pursue web broadcasting and DJing.

Shirley said: “It was extremely sad to learn he had died. Just the day before a volunteer had seen him in Old Town.

“He was quietly passionate. He kept his personal life to himself and he had had to deal with various issues in his life. But he had a very cheeky sense of humour.

“He was into Screamo, which is when you hold a microphone as close to your mouth as you can and scream. We used to have discussions about having Screamo in our programme but he would sneak in the occasional one and hope I was not listening. He was a character.”

Saturday's show will be held at Level 3 and feature Dodging The Bullet, Eye For An Eye, In The Absence Of Light followed by a special Nightshift club night.

Thursday's gig at The Vic will feature The Absence Of Light, Eye For An Eye and a Nightshift club tribute.