Paolo Nutini invites Sarah Philips to concert after 16 year old's single hits the charts

A Chiswick schoolgirl's emotional tribute to her dying mother has not only raised more than £110,000, it has let her to meet the singer whose song she recorded.

16 year old Sarah Phillips' version of Paolo Nutini's Autumn which she recorded on her mobile phone became an internet sensation after she posted it on YouTube. To date the track which accompanys video footage of family holidays and celebrations has received over 330,000 hits and has raised more than £110,000 for the Debbie Phillips Cervical Cancer Research Fund.

The song was released as a single last month after pressure from hundreds of thousands of fans who viewed the emotionally charged performance online. It is currently at number 49 in the charts.

After hearing about Sarah's amazing achievements, Paolo Nutini invited the teenage along to his concert where he congratulated her and organised a collection which raised a further £2,500 from the audience at the Royal Albert Hall.

“Paolo was very charming, very down to Earth when we met him,” Sarah told The Telegraph.

Sarah had no idea of the amazing reaction she would receive when she recorded the track on the evening her mother died.

"The response to the video has been amazing. I sang the song as a tribute to my mother. I hope that people buy the song and that we raise lots of money to help other women who suffer from cervical cancer," she said.

Her father Mark Phillips added, “My wife Debbie fought cancer with grace and dignity for four years. During that fight we discovered that there was no research going on specifically into cervical cancer anywhere in the world. Debbie and I felt that we needed to try to do something to help doctors improve the detection and cure of cervical cancer, which affects many young women and mothers like her.

“We’ve set up the Debbie Phillips Cervical Cancer Research Fund together with the UCL Cancer Research Trust to help finance research into cervical cancer.

“I’m incredibly proud of my daughter and of this beautiful song. The love of Sarah for her mother is so evident in this song, and it’s captured the imagination of listeners worldwide.”

April 12, 2010