Post by Quizz Kid on Oct 28, 2014 17:09:07 GMT
My mate Mike wasn't a 'face' Tull fan, but he was a very long standing fan known to a lot of regulars in the UK.
He came over from Canada in the late 60 's to practice Architecture, he had a small practice but nevertheless he was a good Architect.
We first met when we were sat on opposite sides of the table, him representing developers, me on the side of the local authority. We wouldn't always see eye to eye over the schemes, but we did always sit down and work out solutions to make it happen. Mike was always positive.
At the time Mike worked for a developer who had a lot of sites in the area I covered, so we met pretty regularly. But, it was five years or so later, that me and Mrs Q were standing in line to get into the first UK Tull convention when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a softly spoken Canadian voice, say "Pat?"
We had worked together for around five years and never realised that we were both Tull fans. From that moment we became friends out of the work environment and he and I along with our partners went to gigs.
Mike and his wife Gill became lifelong friends of ours and it wasn't just Tull, we saw a lot of shows together. Despite our friendship Mike never once asked for any favours when his projects came through, he was as straight as the day was long. I will always have huge respect for him, he never blurred the edges.
When I retired and started my own business he helped me get established. He was as generous as he was kind.
A few years ago he offered to drive down to Canterbury for one of Ian's Christmas shows. We thought we would have to abandon the trip due to really heavy snow. Mike seemed to scoff at the idea saying it was nothing compared to driving in Canada. We were treated to one of the best displays of inclement weather driving I have ever witnessed, I swear we were doing 80mph at times through snow on the A2 down to Canterbury, and feeling totally safe.
The four of us had a great time down there. A weekend to cherish.
When we stayed overnight at gigs Mike would often talk of the tours and gigs he attended with Dave Rees, Terry Coates, Martin Webb and others and the laughs they had. It was Mike who introduced me to them and Martin Driver and a few of the band members as well as a host of others.
Mike died last night after just over a year of illness.
He was a good bloke. I never heard him bad mouth anyone, and never heard anyone bad mouth him.
I will miss him and I'm sure a lot of other Tull fans will miss him as well.
Do me a favour, if you have a drink tonight, raise a glass to him and wish him cheerio.
Mike and me [centre back] at the 1990 convention from the 1991 convention programme - Pic Adrian Tyte
He came over from Canada in the late 60 's to practice Architecture, he had a small practice but nevertheless he was a good Architect.
We first met when we were sat on opposite sides of the table, him representing developers, me on the side of the local authority. We wouldn't always see eye to eye over the schemes, but we did always sit down and work out solutions to make it happen. Mike was always positive.
At the time Mike worked for a developer who had a lot of sites in the area I covered, so we met pretty regularly. But, it was five years or so later, that me and Mrs Q were standing in line to get into the first UK Tull convention when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a softly spoken Canadian voice, say "Pat?"
We had worked together for around five years and never realised that we were both Tull fans. From that moment we became friends out of the work environment and he and I along with our partners went to gigs.
Mike and his wife Gill became lifelong friends of ours and it wasn't just Tull, we saw a lot of shows together. Despite our friendship Mike never once asked for any favours when his projects came through, he was as straight as the day was long. I will always have huge respect for him, he never blurred the edges.
When I retired and started my own business he helped me get established. He was as generous as he was kind.
A few years ago he offered to drive down to Canterbury for one of Ian's Christmas shows. We thought we would have to abandon the trip due to really heavy snow. Mike seemed to scoff at the idea saying it was nothing compared to driving in Canada. We were treated to one of the best displays of inclement weather driving I have ever witnessed, I swear we were doing 80mph at times through snow on the A2 down to Canterbury, and feeling totally safe.
The four of us had a great time down there. A weekend to cherish.
When we stayed overnight at gigs Mike would often talk of the tours and gigs he attended with Dave Rees, Terry Coates, Martin Webb and others and the laughs they had. It was Mike who introduced me to them and Martin Driver and a few of the band members as well as a host of others.
Mike died last night after just over a year of illness.
He was a good bloke. I never heard him bad mouth anyone, and never heard anyone bad mouth him.
I will miss him and I'm sure a lot of other Tull fans will miss him as well.
Do me a favour, if you have a drink tonight, raise a glass to him and wish him cheerio.
Mike and me [centre back] at the 1990 convention from the 1991 convention programme - Pic Adrian Tyte