Beautiful tributes to Westhoughton musician Sam Lewis Eccles

Sam Lewis Eccles, from Westhoughton has been described as a ‘music-loving, kind-hearted man’.

Friends said the metal bassist that he was at the centre of their group for more than a decade.

Sam tragically died in March, with the cause of the death not known.

His friends are determined to keep him in their hearts and his memory alive, this includes wearing metal music inspired outfits to his funeral.

Friend Deron Lee said: “It took us by surprise and I was completely shocked. I had to take a week or two off work, it rocked all of our reality and still does.

“It is the small and simple stuff that you miss. I used to live with Sam and we had no money, and we used to get pasta and doctor peppers, sit on the couch and watch TV.”

Tribute to Sam Eccles, second from right with his band members. Credit Brandon Ward

People close to Sam mention whenever he was mentioned music was too as he was a bassist for metal band With the Wolves.

Friends remember Sam at Bolton’s skatepark and at gigs the most and had previously worked in several places.

His friends say that Sam was one of the “funniest people we’ve ever met”, adding: “the kind of person who could make you laugh no matter what was going on. He loved his music loud, proper metalcore, the heavier and dirtier the drop, the better, and he lived his life the same way: real, unapologetic, and completely himself.

Tribute to Sam Eccles, in the white top with his band members. Credit Brandon Ward

“He never pretended to be someone he wasn’t. He stood by his values, no matter what. And even through the hardships he faced, he showed a strength that so many of us admired more than we ever said out loud.”

Deron added: “It is great that all of us have come together and are making something positive out of it and the negativity.”

Deron and friend Keira Ashton have decided to take a step further and make the situation more positive while bringing the group back together.

They have organised the “very unfit, very non-athletic” group to come together for Manchester’s Tough Mudder 5k, which is an obstacle course that gets a bit too muddy.

The 5k is to take place in October, which has raised £723 for his funeral on a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-sam-eccles-tough-mudder-5k

Keira said: “None of us have been very fit. One thing he spoke to the friendship group about being fit and going to the gym when he was less busy, so we’ll do it for him I suppose.

“We started being friends in 2016 or 2017, he was one of a kind honestly, and there’s no one that could ever compare to his personality.

“He would not believe us.”