LAWRENCE JOHN CASSIDY
Lawrence Cassidy was born and bred in Blackpool Lancashire and always kept a local loyalty but his artistic outlook was international and diverse. Educated by the Christian Brothers he originally opted for a career as a lawyer but after one term of a law degree he changed to fine art(sculpture) and gained first class honours. The spark for making music came from his early exposure to Londons punk scene during those university days and the fire it kindled never went out .
He was rightly proud of our bands contributions to the Factory canon and the later work with LTM Recordings. From the attic in my late mothers house on to the four corners of the world over a period of over 30 years my brother and I who were always punks at heart have waged a sonic assault .
My brothers approach to music and art generally was a boundless ethusiasm coupled with a non compromising attitude. His ability to tell you exactly and truthfully what he was thinking of you, to your face! is in my opinion a rare gift. Life for Larry was not a popularity contest. He also had a vast capacity to forgive, he never bore grudges, again a rare gift, he left that sort of thing to me. If there is compassion in this universe, and Larry had a strong faith that there is, then he is at peace.
I will miss you my brother more than words can say.
Vincent Cassidy 03/03/2010
Funeral to be held at:
St John The Evangelist R.C. Church, Breck Road, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire FY6 7HT on Friday 12th March at mid-day
Flowers may be sent or donations if so desired to St Vincent House or Trinity Hospice
c/o C.T. Hull Funeral Directors, 2 Birchway Poulton-le Fylde, FY6 7SF
March 1st, 2010 6:34 pm
Adios amigo, I’m glad I Was able to be in touch
Kindest regards to the family
johnC
March 1st, 2010 8:35 pm
Sad day. Rest in peace Larry..
I want to offer my condolences and my sincere sympathy to the family.
I will miss you a lot !
A new horizon for you, Larry…
March 1st, 2010 8:42 pm
I’ll put “Be Brave” on the turntable again and raise my glass to you.
March 1st, 2010 10:15 pm
I have felt numb with shock since I found out this news, Since I discovered Section 25 music only two years ago, I dought a week has gone by when I have not listended to a Section 25 CD, I am a new fan so this was no nostalgia trip for me, It was all new and fresh, the first Section 25 music I heard was on the release of the best of album and the first gig I went to was shortly after in Blackburn, So all this for was very much in the present,the hear and now, not rememancing about the past, I have never enjoyed myself so much as at a Section 25 gig, and right now I can’t imagine myself ever enjoying anything as much again, This awful thing has hit me for six, and I am only a fan, so what the family and friends are feeling one can only Imagine, No amount of kind words can take away the pain! I just take comfort from knowing he will be with Jenny, Tony, Ian and Rob. R.I.P Larry, you were the best, your music brought me so much pleasure!
March 1st, 2010 10:44 pm
Argh. This is terrible news. I had the opportunity to see Sec 25 on one of their first US tours and they’ve been on my turntable ever since. RIP to Larry and my condolences to his family, friends and band mates.
March 2nd, 2010 9:26 am
His last two albums were so good I bet he could have made half a dozen more like these. It’s a true huge loss because he wasn’t just a hero for his Factory days, his recent stuff on LTM is as good as what he was doing 30 years ago on Factory…
Another hero leaving us more lonely, and this time it means the end of an essential band.
Also we can’t forget he had already been so unlucky when he lost his wife, fate has been so unfair with that family…
March 2nd, 2010 7:31 pm
This sad news has shocked a lot of people. As you can notice on the internet, it is loaded with condoleances because he was a beloved person, a great musician. He will hugely be missed by his Belgian fans. We’ll cherish the last gig we saw at the factory night in Brussels.
Our thoughts are with his family, bandmembers and friends.
March 3rd, 2010 4:01 am
Very tragic news. As a longtime fan who grew up on their brilliant music, it was great to see the band making new music again, touring and starting to get some of their long overdue credit. While I never got to see the band live having only lived in the UK for 1 short year, I was able to experience their power and energy on some fantastic archival releases on LTM. As innovators, the band’s influence is sealed. The brilliance of the early albums and their classic FROM THE HIP is better than many bands recorded output and their latest releases only added to their legacy. My condolences go out to the family in this darkest of times.
March 3rd, 2010 7:41 am
Unbelievable, i got such a terrible feeling when i found this out, he was one of my heroes and inspired me to pick up the bass, he will truly be missed,its such a shame that the best people have to die,i hope his family are good and best wishes for them and the band, may he rest in peace, he truly deserves it.
March 3rd, 2010 11:00 pm
Words can not describe what I feel at the moment.
There are not many bands who improve and get better from one album to the next.
A true legend.
Inspiration is my all time favourite track.
March 4th, 2010 1:41 pm
Very sad & very gutted.Have been a fan since Always Now,which remains one of my all-time favourite albums,& as well as being a fan & follower of most things Factory & Mancunian,have never shied away from championing Section 25s’ music & output.Nature & Degree was a great return to form & have played it in his honour,as I will do with everything else.Very sad to read Vins’ passage,which sums Larry up completely,even tho’ I never met him,but that’s how he struck me! I hope he was happy in his life at the time,& my sincere condolences & sympathy go out to all his family & friends at this time.Sad.
March 4th, 2010 3:53 pm
Very, very sorry to hear about Larry, I remember him coming back to live in Blackpool from London in the late 70’s ‘to
kick Blackpool up the arse!’ and he did. The Cassidy brothers made things happen in a town where nothing really ever happend,
I left B/pool in 1980 came back 25 years later, and S25 were back at it, got to see them a year or so ago (thanks again for the ticket Vin) and they were fantastic. He was a true original. Its very sad, my thoughts and condolences to his family. Paul W
March 4th, 2010 6:16 pm
Just to echo what everyone else has said, really. I’ve been a fan since I first saw the band at the Lyceum with ACR and Joy Division, and I was fortunate enough to meet Larry at the 100 Club gig when From The Hip was out - a really lovely guy. My sincere condolences to his family.
March 4th, 2010 8:03 pm
Such sad sad news…
In my opinion THE essential Factory band, from Always Now through From The Hip right up to last years Nature + Degree… brilliant album after brilliant album. Was lucky enough to attend the Factory Night at Plan K a few years back and the band blew me away, Be Brave sounded awesome that night, what a track…
Turned the lights down low when I heard this news, and listened to New Horizon and Garageland, and just lost myself in Larry’s genius.
Thanks for the music Larry,
Fran.
March 5th, 2010 1:43 am
This is a very sad time indeed. I was lucky to have met Larry on several occasions, having been a good friend of Vin for about 10 years. Larry was always a very honest person and extremely funny in company. We will all miss him.
Thoughts go to all the Cassidy family.
March 5th, 2010 3:05 am
Can’t stop hearing this, it’s just so haunting
You can see through the veil, and forget all your cares, throw
them, throw them away. . . ooh life’s a feeling yeah. . . ooh the body’s a
feeling yeah. . . emotions come and go even strike you a blow. . . but life
life’s a feeling yeah. . . ooh life’s a feeling yeah. . . a shimmering
pattern, the events of one day. . . but it’s a luminous feeling yeah, it’s
a luminous feeling. . . there’s plenty of sadness already today so why
should we make any more? . . . . ooh life’s a feeling yeah. . . the future is
uncertain for us all just now why make things worse? why make things
worse?