Pop superstar Elton John is backing a campaign to raise funds for a four-year-old Irish girl battling a rare form of cancer.
The singer’s Tiny Dancer tune has been re-recorded to help finance treatment for Galway girl Lily-Mae Morrison.
The tot’s family were amazed when the rock star tweeting his support for the new version of his worldwide smash hit.
The Irish Sun reports that Lily-Mae was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma last summer when she complained of a pain in her back.
The rare cancer affects one in every 100,000 kids in Ireland and treatment could cost the family over a million dollars.
Mum Judith and dad Leighton are self-employed dancers and choreographers but they can no longer work as they must bring Lily-Mae to hospital in Dublin every seven days for treatment.
With a survival rate of just 30 to 50 per cent, her treatment is vital with a 70 per cent chance that the cancer could return.
Now singers Declan O’Rourke, Paddy Casey and Mary Black have joined a choir of 250 voices on the new version of the Elton John’s classic Tiny Dancer and it’s already a YouTube hit.
Mum Judith told the Irish Sun: “I just could not believe the number and calibre of stars that came to record the song. It was pretty emotional.
“We brought Lily in at the end to meet everyone, she knew the song was about her, that she was the tiny dancer and she was so happy.”
The family were stunned when Elton told fans he’d added the video to YouTube and also created a link to his official website and Facebook page.
The statement on his website said: “A beautiful version of Elton and Bernie’s song Tiny Dancer has been recorded in Ireland as a way to raise money for the care of Lily-Mae Morrison, a four year-old Irish girl who has neuroblastoma, a rare and extremely aggressive childhood cancer of the nervous system.
“We encourage Elton’s fans to like the video, and we especially encourage you to visit iTunes and buy the song!”
Mum Judith said: “We just could not believe it.
“It’s like a dream come true to have Elton himself endorse it.”
Lily-Mae is to undergo surgery to have cancerous tumours removed at Crumlin Hospital on Monday and will remain in an isolation unit for two months.
The ‘Tiny Dancer’ single is now available on iTunes.
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