THE funeral of a popular city barman took place this week, while a charity gig is to be held on what would’ve been his birthday.

Rob Tipton, 25, who worked at The Bell Inn, St John’s, died suddenly on September 26, with the funeral on Tuesday at Worcester Crematorium.

A former pupil of Worcester Royal Grammar School, Rob went on to study Game Development at the University of Worcester.

Bell landlady Laura McFee described him as a “cheeky chap” who “loved to be in the moment”.

She hired Rob, from Worcester, earlier in the summer and despite only knowing him for around four months, said he’d made a big impression on her and her staff.

“He fit right in,” she explained. “We’re all like a family, anyway, but Rob was a perfect fit.

“He was a cheeky chap but if you got on his wrong side he could be very stubborn.”

A keen golfer, Rob had previously worked at American Golf, on St Martin’s Quarter, as well as Miller & Carter on Cathedral Square.

“Whenever he had the opportunity to, he would make sure Formula 1 or golf were on the TV in the pub, over football,” said Laura. “He especially loved golf.”

Following news of his death, several local bands approached the landlady with the hopes of holding a tribute gig for Rob, himself a talented guitarist, at the pub.

After getting approval from family, the concert was arranged for November 16, to raise money for Leukaemia Care, who looked after Rob when he had cancer as a child.

In 2000, there was an appeal to find a bone marrow donor for Rob which the Worcester News was involved with.

No donor was identified for Rob and he subsequently underwent a pioneering haplo stem cell transplant from his father which saved his life.

His cause of death has not been made public. Laura said the post mortem result came back as “inconclusive” but she did not believe it was related to cancer.

Referring to the funeral, and wake at The Bell, she said: “It was for anyone and everyone who Rob touched in his life. It was more a celebration and doing what Rob would do.”

The Rob Tipton Memorial Concert will begin at 7pm and include bands Jay & Eli and Not Quite Nasty Enough plus others.

Call The Bell Inn on 01905 424570 for more information.