Tributes have been paid throughout the music business for Probe Data boss Geoff Davies, following his dying. He was aged 80.
The music mogul was most famed for co-founding the Probe Data store again in 1971 together with his former spouse Annie, and shortly turned one of the vital influential figures of Liverpool’s cultural scene.
He died on Tuesday morning (September 12) in Kingswood Mount Care Dwelling, Allerton. Asserting his dying, his second spouse Anne revealed that Davies was recognized with dementia in 2019, and solely moved right into a care dwelling on the finish of April this yr.
She additionally instructed The Liverpool Echo that her husband had had a spell in hospital earlier than being relocated to the care dwelling, and that she noticed him deteriorate rapidly having been additional recognized with lymphoma, which was his reason behind dying.
The couple’s file store was initially situated on Clarence Avenue in 1971, earlier than transferring to Button Avenue in 1976. It was additionally near Eric’s nightclub, resulting in frequent visits from artists together with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes.
Well-known faces together with Pete Burns and Julian Cope labored on the store earlier than making it huge of their respective careers, and Davies was quickly established as one of the vital integral names within the native music scene.
In 2010, the store moved to its present location on College Lane.
Following his passing, new wave band Deaf College took to social media to pay tribute to Davis, describing him as “a pricey pal, not solely to us, however to your entire musical collective on Merseyside”. Former Eric’s director Ken Testi additionally stated the file label boss helped “construct the raft” for different Merseyside creatives “to sail on”, and that the town’s “musical creativity and legacy” was constructed on his and Annie’s work (through BBC Information).
It’s with monumental unhappiness that we report the lack of Geoff Davies.
An expensive pal, not solely to us, however to your entire musical collective on Merseyside.
Relaxation in peace Geoff.
We won’t see your like once more. pic.twitter.com/pFMCMoAnGm— Deaf College Dwell (@D_S_Live) September 12, 2023
As reported by The Liverpool Echo, Nigel Blackwell – frontman of Half Man Half Biscuit – additionally paid tribute to Davies. “OMD, Echo and the Bunnymen, Wah!, The Teardrop Explodes, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Farm, The La’s, Lightning Seeds, Boo Radleys, The Coral – magnificent bands all, and but someway Geoff missed each considered one of them and ended up with us. Poor blighter,” he wrote.
“Let or not it’s stated that with out Geoff we might most likely by no means have launched our first file or certainly any file… He shall undoubtedly be missed by us all and all of a sudden ‘Life appears much less candy, Dying much less bitter.’”
Louder Than Battle founder John Robb additionally wrote a heartfelt tribute to Davies, which described him as a “key driving drive within the Liverpool submit punk scene.”
“Geoff (and Annie) was one of many true architects of the Liverpool music scene. A type of mavericks who appeared to reside by each popular culture technology and facilitate the motion,” the replace learn. ”With out Geoff, most of post-punk Liverpool most likely wouldn’t have occurred.”
Take a look at extra tributes from throughout the leisure world under.
So unhappy to listen to about Geoff Davies from Probe passing away quickly after his ex- accomplice Annie – they have been giants of the Liverpool music scene – might they relaxation in peace
Posted by Peter Hooton on Tuesday, September 12, 2023
And there was just one Geoff Davies farewell my pricey pal pic.twitter.com/TrhfSO1osC
— Mike Badger (@MikeBadgerShady) September 13, 2023
So many icons of my youth have handed on over this previous yr however none has damage so viscerally as todays unhappy information about Geoff Davies. To many people, Probe was the gateway to enlightenment. Go simple, Geoff. Step calmly. Keep free 🖤
— Kevin Sampson (@ksampsonwriter) September 12, 2023
Geoff … a bit thread …
Everybody has a narrative about Geoff chasing them out of the store for askig for the unsuitable sort of file. I used to suppose that was to do with style and funky however got here to understand .. https://t.co/fN0EM1LRqr— Frank Cottrell-Boyce (@frankcottrell_b) September 13, 2023
FAREWELL OLD FRIEND: @ProbeRecords founder geoff davies died earlier immediately. this makes immediately’s information doubly unhappy following annie’s current dying. they have been big figures in mine and many individuals’s lives and what they did with probe ought to by no means be underestimated. so lengthy, outdated bean. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/xIfJGwB91O
— Bernard Connor. MD ANT (@bernieworld) September 12, 2023
Many issues change ones life. Geoff Davies modified mine for positive… me and the household too, transferring over to Liverpool gave us all a re boot… a unique life. His backing for me within the bands … HMHB and now… Geoff has gone, he is departed. So unhappy. Like to Jessy, Zack and Ann X pic.twitter.com/Gx76u8iYfM
— jd meatyard (@meatyard_jd) September 12, 2023
So unhappy to listen to the information that Geoff Davies, co-founder of Probe Data has handed away.
Coping with Geoff in later years was at all times a pleasure.
He significantly was considered one of a form and will likely be sorely missed by many.
My condolences exit to his household. pic.twitter.com/fr4FlFuGqF
— Motion Data (@ActionRecords) September 13, 2023
Discover out extra about Probe Data right here.
