Farewell To John Gammon

He had no immediate family and plans for a service are uncertain. John loved the festival business, industry conferences such as Eurosonic in The Netherlands and the developing Eastern European market, which was often good for a controversial story he could really sink his teeth into and “set people’s piss on fire” with. He will be incredibly difficult to replace as there are few who know both the players and the business that John covered so well.

Below are just some of the tributes wishing farewell to John, whose character and dedication to the live business will be missed dearly from Pollstar HQ in California all the way to Iceland and South Africa.

“John was a very investigative journalist and often he found out stories before anyone else came up with it. He was intelligent and had a great sense of humor. … He’s probably already driving Bill Graham, Barry Fey and Fritz Rau mad now with all his questions. RIP – we will miss you here.” Folkert Koopmans – FKP Scorpio

“I found his columns very informative and more importantly very balanced, something rarely said about journalists. May John rest in peace.” Denis Desmond – MCD Productions

“John was a great character, an astute commentator on the business and persistent pain in the ass when he wanted a comment on a story. I’ll miss him.” Neil Warnock — The Agency Group

“I’m very saddened to read about John’s death. John was a true character and we will miss our regular banter with him.” Stuart Galbraith – Kilimanjaro Live

“I was shocked and very saddened to learn of John’s death. I will miss him as will the industry. A good man.” Geoff Ellis – DF Concerts

“It’s very sad news indeed. John was always a tenacious journalist who loved to dig into a story. With his experience in the live industry he understood the complexities of the business way more than many of his peers did. He will be missed for sure.” Emma Banks – CAA

“John was an investigative journalist at heart, with music in his soul and an absolutely charming personality. We need more characters like John. Yes, that would make the world a better place. Men who speak the truth with honourable intentions are few and far between. John was one of them. Gone but not forgotten. RIP.” John Langford – The SSE Hydro

“Just read in your below edition that the lovely John Gammon passed away. My sincere condolences to his family and the Pollstar team.” Herman Schueremans – Live Nation Belgium

“John is a real person, a real and a good friend, always very nice and friendly with me and with my company. We will feel very badly his absence. Bye bye John and grazie di tutto quello che hai fatto per noi.” Claudio Trotta – Barley Arts

“John was a man who stood his ground when deciding on the narrative of a story and someone who had gained sufficient regional knowledge over the years to know when someone was trying to manipulate him to write a show piece, but was also always available to put in the time it took to understand an otherwise complex situation so his piece would be balanced and best reflect reality. May he rest in peace.” Thomas Ovesen – Done Events

“We will always remember John Gammon as a journalist who did his job without fear or favour. May he rest in peace.” Justin Van Wyk – Big Concerts

“I met John in the early ’80s when he was an agent at Louie Parker’s Concorde Agency. We had a consistent very good relationship over the years and I’m already missing him.” Neo Sala – Doctor Music

“John was competent, trustworthy, enquiring, with a great sense of humour and – very rare – you could really rely on him – an exception!” Peter Schwenkow – DEAG

“Very sad to hear the news of John Gammon’s passing. As a fledgling U.S. agent, he introduced me to many cool young acts, who ultimately were my first signings. He was a gentleman and always great to connect with over the years.” Steve Ferguson – Paradigm

“I’ll miss my music chats with John at ILMC, Eurosonic, Reeperbahn and various airport lounges around Europe. Some misinformed people may have thought of him as a miserable ol’ git at times but I always had a great laugh with him, along with a few glasses of red. I shall miss his blunt sense of humour and general love / hatred of the live industry and the characters or chancers as he liked to call them. … Godspeed Gammon.” Terry McNally – ILMC / IQ Magazine

“I was lucky enough to have had professional dealings with him and always found him to be fair, very talented, smart and truly professional. He was honest, trustworthy and someone who truly represented Pollstar, the music industry and journalists at the highest level.” Michael Roth – AEG VP of communications.

“Very sad to hear that Gammon has passed away. I will miss our Spurs vs Gunners discussions.” Brian Nielsen – Down The Drain Production

“Having known John for over 20 years I am very saddened that we’ll never again chink whiskey glasses. I’ll miss his sardonic sense of humour and tenacious journalistic talents. No one else followed a story like John in search of the truth, scratching every surface, knocking every door to look at the whys and wherefores in the deeper recesses of a story.” Graham Brown – We Are Plaster

“Very sad. John Gammon was always honest and had a sharp pen, writing down the truth as he knew it without fear of repercussions. RIP John.” Rob Berends – Paperclip Agency

“John Gammon was a fantastic journalist. He was always the first one on the phone either breaking the story or when it broke, and he wouldn’t back down until he got all the facts.” Jackie Antas – Ticketmaster UK

“All our love and thoughts are for Pollstar UK’s John Gammon today, not only our friend, but an incredibly talented journalist and all round great man. One of the industry’s finest and funniest, we will miss your razor sharp wit and knowledge, RIP John.” Academy Music Group

“So sad to hear about John´s passing – I did many interviews with him over the years and we got along really well. I hope he´s on his way to a better place now.” Frehn Hawel – Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion

“We are very upset to hear that John has passed away. He was a well informed and observant attendant of our conference during the last years and sometimes also a good adviser. We definitely will miss him.” Detlef Schwarte – Reeperbahn Festival