John Belham-Payne, Doreen Valiente & Thunderclap Newman

John Belham-Payne 1952 – 2016. RIP
MEMORIAL FUND
John’s family has asked that, in keeping with John’s wishes, people might like to donate to the John Belham-Payne Memorial Fund instead of sending flowers. The fund will be put to immediate use by the Doreen Valiente Foundation to open the first of the public exhibitions of the Doreen Valiente Collection in Brighton in April 2016 which is the project John was dedicating himself so completely to for the past few years of his life and the fruition of which was his dearest last wish. To donate go here.

The Doreen Valiente Foundation has just published Philip Heselton’s biography of Doreen. A copy has just arrived here and I’m looking forward to reading it. You can read more about it here. And you can see a clip of John telling you about the book below. It’s especially poignant to watch this, since John’s no longer with us.

In looking at John’s Facebook page I’ve just learnt that he was the session drummer playing in ‘Something’s in the Air’ by Thunderclap Newman. I loved that song! “Hand out the arms and ammo,” was an unfortunate line in the lyrics, but it was such a feel-good song even this seemed (absurdly in hindsight)  a joyful statement!