Stan’s new chapter ‘MY MUM SAVED MY LIFE’

‘Mum’s always been there, even though we’ve had our ups and downs’

Singer Stan Walker’s autobiography is full of devastating childhood memories, from trying to kill himself with a kitchen knife at the age of three, to the brutal beatings he received at the hands of his father, often using household items such as an iron, a vacuum cleaner and a set of golf clubs.

But the most horrific revelation is that at just eight years old, Stan was raped almost every day, over a period of nine months, by an older male cousin. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare – and reading about it brought it all back for his mother April, who only learnt about the sexual assault years later, when Stan told her at age 16.

“It took me right back to step one – I had a bit of a cry,” confesses April, 56, Zooming into our interview with Stan from her home