Obituary
My brother Paul Howard Davis, originally from London, England, passed away on Saturday December 11th, 2020, at the age of 72, after contracting the Coronavirus. Paul was born to Robina and Arthur Davis in Hendon, a then leafy London suburb, on June 27th, 1948. Like his father who referred to him affectionately as ‘the boy ‘, he was a lover of the outdoors. Animals always featured in his life, the dog that needed a home, the stray cat he rescued one day on his way home from school. But horses were his first love; Paul enjoyed riding and was always to be found at the stables not far from where we lived. After a prep school and college education, he briefly worked in a design office but soon decided that a 9 – 5 job was not for him. After he left for the U.S, our father found many paintings, the work of a talented schoolboy showing a promising artistic skill. He came from a family of amateur artists and poets, so it was in his genes.
In the 1970s and 80s he worked in the British music industry. Some of the best-known bands of those decades will remember him. Our paths converged and parted between the time he left for the United States and the present. He returned to his country of birth rarely and sadly we lost touch for long periods. I must thank his dear Friends Barb and Randy in Toronto for leaving a wonderful tribute on this site that fills in all the gaps. It makes me very proud of my brother who was never anything but hardworking and in the face of illness, injury and adversity was resilient to the end. He was kind, witty and articulate with a flair for the written word.
Paul will be mourned by his sister Roberta, aunt, uncle, and cousins in England and by his many friends in Canada, America, and the U.K.
Haiku for Paul by Roberta Davis
Your spirit
lives in the waves
of a far off ocean
Barb & Randy will miss you forever Paul. You magically sculpted air into music, and also sat in every chair around the boardroom table. The world will never know what an important part of music industry history we've just lost, as you were the Forrest Gump of the music biz, always just behind the scenes of many of the most important events in music history.
Your laughter and intelligence and all the wonderful things we did, and also planned to do together in the future, will never be forgotten. Our shared love of animals & your love for your pet pigeon Fairmont was heart-warming.
I'm sure you've reunited with your friend Charley Pride too, since you both left us the same way, within a few hours of each other. With all the other musicians you knew, Heaven has more talent there than ever now...and I'm sure you're all having fun making beautiful music together.
Our hearts are broken, but we're glad you can float off on warm ocean breezes with the birds... and hope you're enjoying some new adventures.
Our thoughts & love will always be with you.
TTFN
Barb & Randy