Tributes to beloved landlord (From Stroud News and Journal)

Tributes to beloved landlord

A NEW Orleans jazz and procession through the town centre will mark the passing of the kingpin of Stroud's alternative scene this week.

Music promoter and publican Andy Thomas died at the age of 43 in the early hours of Tuesday, January 8 after battling cancer for two years.

"It's very common to hear that people died after along fight against cancer," said Pete 'Ped' Wigens, an old friend of Andy's.

"But in his case it was true - he put up a good fight."

Best known in Stroud as the landlord of the Pelican pub until it changed hands last year, Andy also ran the acoustic stage at Glastonbury Festival and transformed the Golden Fleece in Nelson Street when he took over the tenancy in 1994, giving the pub its speakeasy jazz-friendly feel.

He will be remembered as a laid-back, charismatic, private man with a very public face who was happy to practice the live-and-let-live philosophy he preached.

"He was always as cool as you like," said his wife, Anne O'Neill.

"He just took everything in his stride.

"Even these last couple of years the moments when he was down were very rare - he remained very positive."

Right to the end he refused to admit defeat and medics were staggered by the amount of sedatives it took to put him under.

"They said it was like felling a tree," said Anne.

"He never surrendered - he didn't want to die, he loved living and he still had lots to do.

"All the people he dealt with thought he was the business - he was always open to giving people a chance and helping them follow their dreams."

Brought up on Merseyside in Widnes, Andy had a passion for music from an early age and began his foray into the music business before he left college, rigging lights for bands in Liverpool and Manchester in the 70s.

He later moved to London where he continued his involvement in the music scene and also turned his hand to bar and restaurant management.

In the mid 80s he moved again, this time to Bath, where he took on two lively pubs and was credited by the BBC as being responsible for the introduction of dance music to the West Country, bringing in top artists like the Orb's Alex Patterson and KLF.

In 1987 he founded Scams Promotions, a company which runs the acoustic stage at Glastonbury Festival and promotes music events in the South West. Every year he would recruit dozens of Stroudies to help out at the world's top music festival.

"Their year would revolve around it," said friend and business associate Rodda Thomas, landlord of the Golden Fleece.

"It seemed like his passion to bring the joy of life not just to himself but everyone," said brother-in-law Danny O'Neill.

"He wanted the Pelican to be an experience and it was - there wasn't another pub like it in this town.

"He had a mission in life, which a lot of people in life don't."

Anne remembered Andy not just as an influential promoter and universally respected publican but as a loving husband who was a really good dad.

"Even though it was cut short we were very lucky to achieve the kind of love we did," she said.

"And that can't be taken away."

For more on this story and much more, see this week's Stroud News & Journal