I was at school and university with Jon, and during those intense and exciting years he was one of my closest friends.
We shared an obsession with music, and soul music in particular, spending hours at his parents' house at the Lawns in Cottingham listening to Stax and Motown records, and, of course, Iggy, the Velvets, and David Bowie. We talked incessantly about artists, labels and songs, and played our latest records. Jon thought it was hilarious when I failed to recognise "Green Onions" (doh!).
I'm sure we talked about other things; friends, films, TV, the usual college intrigues and romances: but when I think of Jon the first thing I remember is his passion for music. I picture him playing the bass in his room in college, and getting his kicks "out on the floor" in his brand-new Carnaby Cavern suit. A couple of times Jon took me to a disco he'd found in Gilberdyke, with a grumpy DJ who had a great collection of soul records that he seemed reluctant to play. He would sandwich "The Champion" and "I Spy for the FBI" between the Nolans and the Dooleys, and then return to endless Stars on 45 megamixes.
I have so many other memories: the time we got beaten up in Cottingham; a group of us taking cover as fists and furniture flew at a Zoot and the Roots gig in Scarborough; dancing to C-Bank's "One More Shot" as dawn broke over the Queen's College ball. I remember Jon's big cheeky grin; he had an easy-going charm and made friends wherever he went. At a college reunion in 2001 the question I was asked more than any other was if I knew whether Jon was coming. I regret to say I didn't, and he didn't.
Jon loved his family, was loyal to his friends, and was just a lovely person. I'm sorry that we lost touch after university, and I am so sad that he is gone
