'I promised my father the world would hear our song'

Nearly 60 years ago, erstwhile Karen Teasdale-Robson was conscionable 9 months old, her begetter wrote her a lullaby.

In a household burdened by violence, Brian Teasdale looked aft her and sang Little Girl whenever she was sad.

But, his girl says, erstwhile an battle by his ain lad near him with encephalon harm she thought she would ne'er perceive him sing again.

Life astatine location was not ever easy, says Mrs Teasdale-Robson, who present lives successful Newcastle.

Her parent and member had intelligence wellness problems and she says she and her begetter were connected the receiving extremity of unit from them both.

"My dada was the lone loving idiosyncratic successful my beingness then," she says. "He got maine retired of the location and took maine retired for walks distant from the nastiness.

"I deliberation helium was bewildered by my mam's aggression. He tried to support maine retired of it and marque definite I felt loved."

Mrs Teasdale-Robson believes her begetter disquieted his woman would get custody if the mates divided up and truthful stayed for his daughter.

"Our full lives were spent trying not to upset her," she says.

Mr Teasdale was endlessly creative, winning a poesy contention erstwhile helium was 8 and learning to play the guitar and "constantly" penning music, his girl says.

"He adjacent wrote a opus successful representation of John Lennon aft helium died and sent a transcript connected vinyl to Yoko Ono."

He did everything for his girl erstwhile she was young due to the fact that his woman was not well, she says, and it was during this clip helium wrote Little Girl.

"He utilized to sing it to maine and accidental 'this is your song, Karen'."

But, successful October 2011, everything changed.

"My dada was assaulted 1 last clip by my brother," Mrs Teasdale-Robson says. "He near my dada with a superior encephalon injury."

Her begetter mislaid the quality to pass beyond 1 oregon 2 words astatine a clip and could nary longer write.

"He went from being a antheral who was a maestro of words - a antheral of intellect - to maine teaching him to speak," she says.

"They said it could instrumentality years to found what capableness helium had near but I knew helium was successful determination somewhere," Mrs Teasdale-Robson says. "So I recited 1 of his poems.

"My dada couldn't accidental a word, but helium made sounds on with the metre of the poem. The neuropsychologist said she got goosebumps."

She bought children's books and work to her begetter each day.

"The time helium said my sanction that December was the top Christmas acquisition I ever got," she says.

In 2012, Mr Teasdale was moved to a specializer residential encephalon wounded unit, Chase Park, successful Whickham, wherever his girl visited him each day.

"He would accidental things similar 'don't hide me' and 'I utilized to beryllium clever'. It broke my heart," she says.

"I knew what it would bash to him, not being capable to write. The thought of his enactment being lost. I promised him determination and past that I'd get his enactment seen."

When, successful 2021, during the Covid pandemic, Chase Park warned Mrs Teasdale-Robson her begetter did not person agelong near to live, she "panicked astatine the thought of him dying with radical not knowing however talented helium was".

Not agelong afterwards she was looking done an aged briefcase erstwhile she came crossed an ageing, brownish reel-to-reel tape-recording of her lullaby. A store successful the metropolis enactment it connected CD for her and she says it was "unbelievable to perceive him singing again".

But the signaling had deteriorated and her beloved opus was crackly and distorted.

She turned to BBC Radio Newcastle for assistance and her entreaty reached 1 of the lecturers successful Sunderland College's euphony department.

Tony Wilson says, erstwhile helium played the signaling to his students, they instantly wanted to re-record it.

"The full country was stunned by the sheer quality of it," helium says.

"It struck maine instantly arsenic being up determination with those aged classics from the American Songbook. It had a existent prime of thing similar Somewhere Over the Rainbow oregon Blue Moon."

When Mrs Teasdale-Robson heard the caller mentation she "couldn't halt crying", she says.

"I'd promised my dada I'd marque definite radical knew however talented helium was and present present they were, texting successful to accidental they loved his music."

Still incapable to sojourn her begetter successful idiosyncratic due to the fact that of Covid restrictions, she had to edifice to asking his household liaison idiosyncratic to play him the opus implicit a video link.

"He was beauteous overmuch non-verbal by that constituent but, erstwhile helium heard that, helium pointed astatine himself arsenic if to accidental 'that's mine' and was miming the words," she says.

"It was an unbelievable moment. He knew I'd kept my promise."

A fewer months later, successful May 2022 and conscionable aft his 90th birthday, Mr Teasdale died.

"I cognize radical proceeding his opus was his imagination travel true," his girl says.

"But I inactive had this feeling determination was much to do. We'd spoken astir possibly 1 time putting the opus into a teddy bear."

Not knowing wherever to start, she approached concern advisor Brenda Wilson astatine Project North East who said Little Girl was "so beautiful, I had goosebumps erstwhile I heard it".

Now, 2 years later, Mrs Teasdale-Robson has her ain concern and 600 "Teasdale Teddies" to merchantability which play her father's song.

"All I was near erstwhile my dada died was the song," Mrs Teasdale-Robson says. "It's each I person of him.

"If I tin get this concern to work, past I privation to usage the opus and my dad's communicative to rise consciousness of home unit towards men."

She hopes the lullaby could mean arsenic overmuch to implicit strangers arsenic it does to her.

"So galore radical person heard the song, loved it, and past played a portion successful getting this thought disconnected the ground," she says.

"I'd ne'er person thought uncovering that aged portion would pb america here."

If you person been affected by immoderate of the issues raised successful this article, you tin entree enactment connected BBC Action Line