Daughter's love so evident in song captures imagination of thousands around the world

On the evening her mother died, 16 year old Sarah Phillips went to the bedroom of her Chiswick home and sang Paolo Nutini’s Autumn into her mobile phone.

The song with its accompanying video of family moments became a surprise YouTube hit, gaining 250,000 views in a week and attracting press interest from around the world.

Over £67,000 has been raised so far for the Debbie Phillips Cervical Cancer Research Fund.

The song is being released as a single today, Monday 22nd March, after pressure from the hundreds of thousands of fans who viewed the emotionally charged performance online and in the media. The proceeds will all be donated to the Debbie Phillips Cervical Cancer Research Fund.

Sarah said, "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.”

Her father Mark Phillips added, “My wife Debbie fought cancer with grace and dignity for 4 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.

“That’s why we’ve decided to release it as a single to raise money for research into cervical cancer.”

March 22, 2010