Thee Claw: Jay-Jay Winter R.I.P.

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Jay-Jay Winter R.I.P.

Taken from the ASOMVEL Myspace page:

"It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that Jay-Jay Winter, bassist & singer with ASOMVEL has lost his life in a car accident. He was driving home on October 18th when en route he was forced off the road by another drivers incompetence. Jay later died in hospital from the injuries he sustained. Jay was a great man, he was one of the most honest, forthright and brutally truthful people you could ever hope to meet. With his razor sharp wit and frank opinions, he was loved and respected by all of his peers in the UK Metal community because of his strength of character. He was generous and helpful to a fault with people who deserved it, and sometimes even with people who didn’t deserve it. Such was his love of fair play and the underdog getting the upper hand. He was more than just a bandmate, he was also a family member and a true friend. We are all stunned by this turn of events and hope that you will all understand why all our forthcoming gigs are now cancelled. R.I.P. Jay Jay. Lenny Robinson & Ian Wright (ASOMVEL, October 18th 2010)."

Grind me down and suck my will - you ain't defeating me
I know that my time will come and then you'll surely see
That I can rise above it all and be who i want to be
To never fucking give into, a life of Drudgery

Earlier today I spoke to our friend Randy Reaper (from THE LAMP OF THOTH) about Jay Jay passing. R.R. had been a good friend of Jay Jay and had only recently been to ireland for a show together (THE LAMP and ASOMVEL played a few shows together, always blinding).

RR: Everytime you looked at Jay you saw the fire in his eyes, the beers, the gigs, the whiskey, the laughs that we shared, he was a great bloke with a heart of gold for those who were worth it. He might not be around anymore, but we'll carry on the fight and he'll never be forgotten.

The last time that we met Jay Jay was in September 2010 at a show in Wakefield, UK. The band played a great set, seemingly still getting tighter as a unit with each successive show. Later in the day Jay could be spotted around the venue, trademark wrap-around shades across his face, while he stood leaning against a post and watching the video playback of their set (The Snooty Fox venue always record each band's set and then show it again shortly afterwards... might be worth contacting the venue to enquire about getting a copy of it actually). He looked quite pleased with the video.

An example of Jay's on-stage humour: All the way through the ASOMVEL set Randy Reaper (he of THE LAMP OF THOTH) was holding up huge hand-written signs at the band with "TWAT", "BUMMER" and other expletives written on them. At one point in between songs he held up a sign facing towards the Snooty Fox's webcam (the event was being live-streamed on the internet) and Jay stopped for a second and shouted "That better not say TWAT!". Randy turned the sign round and Jay read it. "Oh Cunt, that's ok". They then went straight into the next song.

Towards the end of the night a couple of us found Lenny to ask if they had any ASOMVEL "merch" with them to sell (none has been layed out on the merchandise desk). Len looked at Jay Jay who was busy holding court with a few people outside the venue; Jay gave a serious smile and said something along the lines of "Come on then" and lead us around to his car to get some tshirts from the trunk. He could have easily told us to wait a while (or even to get lost!) but as was his nature, he sorted the situation out pretty quickly.

An utter gent.