Stu & I

Saying goodbye to a true friend and legend.

I wrote this yesterday morning after I heard the news that one of my closest friends Stu Housley had passed just a few weeks after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called angiosarcoma. Whilst gathering for some drinks at mine to pay our respects, I recieved the news that Rob Picton aka Joe Blow had also passed. As soon as I am able, I will write something for him also.

I still remember the first time I ever met Stu. He came sidling up to me on the dancefloor at some point in 2005 and said, “I’ve got a sound system. It’s yours whenever you need it, let’s do something.” What I don’t remember is the amount of parties we ended up putting on together, but it was a lot. I think Buffalo Sundays were probably the most memorable, we used to hate having to pick up the sound system every Monday morning but the amount of fun that everyone, including us, had was more than worth it. When I moved to Bristol briefly he carried it on and made it even bigger and better. It was a pleasure to be one of his resident DJs when I came back. I remained one of his residents when he took over the basement of 10 Feet Tall for a while too.

His reputation for putting on great parties grew, for many he was known as Stu Party. He started to put on huge nights at the student unions in both Cardiff and Bath, with epic line ups. Who can forget the after parties either?!

I remember one night at Cardiff Arts Institute. I’d moved into his house at Inverness Place by that point, a legendary house I’m sure many people would agree and that’s all down to Stu. He made me get on the mic and invite the whole club back, though I’m not sure he was expecting everybody to come. I’m pretty sure that’s the night we eventually had our party privileges taken away by the council after an epic soundclash with the next door neighbour that lasted for about 3 or 4 days in total. He’d had a good run up until that point though. For a period it must have been one of the number one party houses in town. The time he covered the entire back garden and turned the shed into a DJ booth was a particular highlight.

I didn’t always know what he was planning, to be honest I’m not always sure he did. When he first started the Facebook group Ibiza Beach Raves, he didn’t really know why, except that he wanted to go and spend some time in Ibiza. “Are you taking the sound system then?” I asked. “No. I don’t think so.” he replied. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do there.”

We watched the numbers of the group grow wildly every day, until eventually, when there were many thousands of people on there all planning to head to the island, he changed the name of the group to ‘Ibiza Taxis’ - told us to look after Stan the cat for a few months - and headed out there himself to be an illegal taxi driver.

He had the time of his life and got to meet so many people in the process. He loved people. He could be the most socially awkward person at times because his brilliant brain was always working away in the background, but nothing made him happier than seeing the people around him celebrating life.

Big Love, the festival he started with our friend Badger, was probably the pinnacle of that and it’s fully testament to him what an amazing bunch of people gather there each year.

He made things happen, I was in awe of his practicality and resourcefulness. To be honest he’s saved my backside so many times in the past there’s no way I could ever have repaid his kindness to me. He was a fantastic father to Elin, a truly loving partner to Jo and a great friend to many of us. He was one of the best friends that I’ve ever had and to be honest I’m still struggling to accept that he’s gone.