A frontman for a post-punk band who had previously worked as a journalist for a local daily newspaper has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 49.
Before moving on to his current position as a reporter for the Cambridge News in 2000, John Clare covered news for both the Surrey Advertiser and the Stockport Express.
Two years later, he helped create the local post-punk band Bomb Factory, which later toured in France and Germany and supported bands like The Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit.
Before he joined Mason’s news agency, he covered the Soham murders trial that was held at the Old Bailey in 2002 as a reporter. During this time, he also worked as a reporter for Anglia TV. In 2002, he covered the trial.
John began working in public relations in 2006, first for the RSPB and later for Anglian Water, where he remained for seven years before passing away at his home in Cambridge on January 3.
“John was an extraordinary writer and talent, but there was much, much more to the guy beyond his work,” Ciaran Nelson, head of brand and communications at Anglian Water, said in an interview with the Cambridge Independent. “John was a wonderful person,”
“It was this rich tapestry underneath his unassuming appearance that had us all enthralled – as he frequently did while regaling us with stories from Bomb Factory and as a reporter,” she said. “It was this rich tapestry that had us all captivated.”
“The communications and writing community has lost a wonderful talent, and we have all lost a hugely brilliant, decent, and hilarious man who will be sorely missed,” said one person.
Following his departure from Anglian Water, John became the PR and research communications manager at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
“Everyone who worked with John is going to miss him dearly,” the managing director of academic publishing, Mandy Hill, remarked after John’s passing.
“Not only was he skilled in his work, but he was also a delight to collaborate. His capacity to condense our ideas and goals into a concise narrative or announcement never fails to impress me, and it never will. I have collaborated with John on several complex subjects, and I will be eternally grateful for his careful approach to all of our conversations.
The most considerable void, however, will be left by the loss of him as a person, with all of his humor, sincerity, empathy, and honesty.
The most recent album by John’s band, Paint Nothing, was titled Influencer and was released in 2017. The band plans to record additional songs in the studio the following month.
“First and foremost, John was a wonderful friend,” stated David Williams, the drummer for both Paint Nothing and Bomb Factory. Over the past two decades, we have collaborated musically, and we are all utterly heartbroken at his passing.
Karen, a journalist, their son William, and John’s mother, Julia, are the only people who will miss him.
Karen remarked, “John was a superb writer and a creative person, and he truly talked to people with his lyrics.” John had passed away recently. He was a delightful, witty, and generous man who, no matter where he traveled, could forge friendships that would last a lifetime.
“All of us are in utter disbelief. He was an exceptional father, husband, son-in-law, uncle, and friend, and he still had so much more to give.”