John Blades
1959 - 2011
R.I.P






Tributes to be posted here may be sent to longloop@thelooporchestra.net



In the early hours of Friday 25th of November 2011 John passed away. Diagnosed with cancer mid year, he was on a number of occasions since July afflicted with infection and conditions requiring hospitalisation for differing periods of time.

John was passionate about alternative arts and particularly music, but he was passionate about The Loop Orchestra more than anything else. It was largely John who had the inspiration for a sound source and visual accompaniment for any given performance piece. John meticulously organised performances, and record and CD production. He once confided in me that he lived for The Loop Orchestra. You can imagine then, the significance to him of having his focus drawn away from The Loop Orchestra in the last year or so to be trained on avenues through which he could make a difference for others with disabilities. And then to be rewarded for his endeavours made him exceptionally proud. He was overwhelmed with the national and international recognition he received for his radio documentary "The Too Hard Basket" for which he won a Walkley Award for Best Social Equity Journalism in 2010's Excellence in Journalism awards. Still more recognition has come with the documentary Scarlet Road: A Sex Workers Journey, that deals with the sexual wants of people with disability, in which John features prominently. And yet still John was excited about the upcoming release of a picture disk with locked grooves and celebrations in 2012 to mark The Loop Orchestra's 30th anniversary. It is a tragedy that John will not be here to see these to their fruition.

John was a truly special person - inspirational, generous and caring - in spite of and because of his disability. His passing leaves a void that I cannot begin to think how to embrace.

Hamish