Our tribute to our friend Leon Moody (31.1.69 - 25.10.20)

We recently said goodbye to our good friend Leon Moody, a kind, gentle and remarkable man who inspired great affection in everyone he met who will be missed greatly by all of us at the Gate. Leon has been a key contributor in almost everything we've done in the past 15 years or so that he attended the Gate; he was a natural charismatic actor in our video drama sessions, a methodical, thoughtful visual artist and a key musician in all our musical projects providing the bass for most of our traditional band set-ups (including as part of the 2Decks band) and as a lynchpin of our experimental, improvising ensemble Jamaica!

Given his role as a key member of Jamaica! when we were recently asked to provide music for Cafe Oto's digital label Takuroku we decided to submit an old recording that heavily featured Leon and to let it serve as a dedication to him. This recording can be found here and can be heard in the snippet below.

cafeOTO · TR098 - JAMAICA!! - 'Leon'

So farewell Leon, thank you for all you did for us as a friend and as a collaborator, rest easy bud.

"I've knew Leon for a long time but in 2015 he joined my band as the Bass player. We played all over London together and also in Brighton. He was a really nice guy who never complained and was always smiling. I have lost a great musician and a good friend." 2Decks

"Leon was a really nice guy. I remember I went to see him when he was sick once and because we both smoke i would take him outside for a smoke together. I will miss him a lot, he was a good friend to everyone and a really nice guy to be around. I can't believe that he's gone." Mandy.

"Thanks for being a great band member, you were a highlight of the band for as long as I can remember and I thank you for creating some sweet memories." Josh.

"Thank you for being a great friend, we will all miss you. We will always remember you. Thank you for all the music, i feel like you are up in heaven playing your bass and smiling down on everyone." Labake.

Gate Kicks 11.11.20 - Featuring the Mumby Wolves

Here's our latest episode of our radio show this time featuring The Mumbly Wolves, an inclusive band from Croydon which features friend of the Gate, and ambassador for learning disabled music and musicians, Alan Courtis - for more on Alan and the Mumbly Wolves project please see this article he wrote for The wire magazine.