Glasgow DJ remembered with new osteosarcoma research fund

BBC News

4 hours ago

The family of a young Glasgow DJ who died from a rare bone cancer say her love of music got her through the toughest times of her terminal illness.Niamh Jobson was a prominent figure in the city's club scene.She worked throughout her illness for seven years, undergoing chemotherapy and losing her leg to the disease before dying in January, aged 22.Her family have now raising money for research into the cancer which killed her.
'Horrendous times'
Born in Hong Kong, Niamh spent part of her childhood on the Isle of Eigg before settling in Glasgow, where she became immersed in the city's club culture.She played some of Scotland's most respected venues including Sub Club, as well as festivals such as Kelburn Garden Party. She was a resident at Slam's Return to Mono club night, and co-hosted the Dub Series show on Radio Buena Vida alongside close friend and fellow DJ, Kairogen.Her mum, Jackie Jobson, said: "Even when she was in severe pain, she still went out and performed DJ sets."She always said 'if I don't do it, that'll be even worse.'"Jackie described how Niamh was determined to keep going despite everything she was facing."She didn't want the illness to define her," she said.
Niamh was particularly close to her siblings, Finn and Betsy-Mae."Obviously not having Niamh around anymore is a really difficult thing, especially for a brother and sister who are 20 and 15," said Jackie.The family say they are still coming to terms with life without her but are committed to keeping her spirit and values alive.They have set up the Niamh Jobson Research Fund to raise money for research into osteosarcoma, which is a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer that mostly affects teenagers and young adults. Finn says one of the reasons behind launching Niamh's fund was because his sister believed more needed to be done to improve treatment for the disease.He said: "The treatment hasn't changed in like 40-50 years. All patients do is just go through chemotherapy for ages and then end up having to amputate limbs. And then they end up not surviving anyway."Finn described how much pain his sister was in during her final year."Sometimes it was so severe that she didn't really sleep at all."So we would take turns as a family staying up all night at the hospital."He hopes the fund will lead to new treatments and spare other young patients from going through what Niamh did.
The Niamh Jobson Research Fund will be part of the Bone Cancer Research Trust and contribute to international research into new forms of treatment.Finn says: "Our goal now is to completely change the trajectory of osteosarcoma research. We're going to go global with it."The fund will launch on Saturday at Glasgow's SWG3, with a day of music curated by Niamh's family and friends.The line-up includes Kairogen, Danny Greenman, Timescape, VXYX, Harry Mawby and LAZLO."All the people who are playing were close to Niamh and played with her," says Finn."It's a very Niamh-inspired sound, and we're carrying on what she started."
Sub Club DJ, Domenic Cappello, recently released a track in Niamh's honour.'Niamh's Song' features on the Galactic Praise EP by Cyphon Recordings.He said: "When I first made the track, I sent it to Niamh and she loved it. It's deep, electro, and definitely something she would have played in her own sets."Domenic described Niamh as an important part of the Sub Club family."We all loved her. She would dance at the same spot on the left-hand side of the DJ booth, and I'd turn around during my set and she'd be going nuts."I miss looking to the left and seeing her."
Following Niamh's death, her family created "Niamh Day", which has become a monthly event, held on the 22nd.Her mother told BBC Scotland News the idea came from a desire to give people a way to remember Niamh with joy, not just sadness."The number 22 just kept appearing," she said. "She was born on 22 January, she died aged 22, even her hospice room was number 22." "So it just felt right, like a natural anchor point for people to focus on something positive in their life."