thee mr mister
i found out early this morning that my good friend, paul nicholls, had lost his battle with cancer. i first met paul a few years ago at death disco when it was in it's prime. he was so vibrant and energetic and i was instantly drawn to him, if a little intimidated at first. we spoke about doing a photoshoot together for a college project i was working on. paul and i later met for a drink to discuss the shoot which was the beginning of our friendship.
paul lit up every room he was in, a true firecracker, he told the funniest jokes and he always had the last word. is it aye?
there's too many stories to mention of those manic nights in glasgow, the night rolling into days and days after his legendary club nights in bloc.
i think i only have to say paddling pool and the holocaust and many peoples minds will be taken back.
at the end of summer 2008, paul and i made the big step of moving to london. a dream for both of us for so many years. i was so proud to stand by paul as he progressed in his career as a dj, playing on the same bill as some of his heroes such as siouxsie sioux, skin and princess superstar. paul was so passionate about music and would talk to me for hours in the flat, playing me the tracks that inspired him.
things got pretty tough in our flat, my favourite story is when we both had no money whatsoever and the electricity meter ran out. we had no money, no cigarettes, no food so we decided (paul's idea) to walk a mile to the nearest 24hour tesco, buy all our amenities with a cheque that we would later cancel. we got there only to discover the tesco was not 24hours and had closed 5 hours previous to our arrival. i was raging and all paul could do was laugh and say, "we'll be laughing about this one day." see, he was always right.
another time, i remember paul going to the doctors to tell them he wanted to stop smoking so we could get free nicotine patches that we sat with on our arms until we managed to get someone to put a tenner into one of our banks to buy a packet of fags and some noodles.
i left london to go back to glasgow but paul stayed and stuck it out, i knew i was leaving him in safe hands. it made me so happy everytime he would phone me to tell me all the tales of his antics and the bigger and better opportunities that were coming his way.
on new year's eve 2009, i went to see paul at ucl hospital after he had been admitted following his collapse at euston. it was horrible to see him in such a weak state but his spirit remained as full as ever. you could never take that away from paul.
when paul played his homecoming gig in bloc earlier this year, i took the trip up to glasgow to surprise him and it was one of the best things i ever did. the night was amazing, paul spinning the tunes we all loved to hear him play and the love and positive energy pouring towards him.
the last time i saw paul was a few weeks ago when he came to london on a visit. he was so frail but still keeping us all entertained with his hilarious jokes and witty stories. paul was so strong and positive throughout his treatment, i admire his courage to keep his blog running and tell the world, no holds barred, what he was going through.
paul never missed and hit the wall.
i haven't known what to feel or think most of the day today, i've been looking at old photographs, playing back old memories in my head and i am truly proud and honoured that i got to know paul so well. he was a big part of my life and he touched so many other people too.
my thoughts today are with his mother, claire and chris.
rest in peace paul, i'll look for the brightest star in the sky.
dorrian
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