Message from Marcus Cliffe on his Facebook:
yesterday, I was woken with a phone call telling me my friend Brendan Croker had died the previous day. I've been sat with this now for over 24 hours and I'm still coming to terms with it. I joined Brendan Croker and the 5 O'Clock shadows when I was about 23/24. The band had been going for a year but the bassist Nigel Brooke decided the music bizz wasn't for him and Graham pollard the drummer decided the same thing. So with the new lineup of Myself on Bass, Mark Creswell on gtr, Davey Curry on drums and brendan on vocals/gtr we set out on what was to become an amazing musical and personal adventure. We'd already made a name for ourselves in our home town but knew we had to venture forth, so we all made the decision to 'go pro' and go for it. I was working at a music shop in Leeds at the time, Brendan had had odd jobs and so had the other guys. So off we went into the big wide yonder playing every gig we could for a couple of years, making a couple of albums and getting some good press/radio to boot. We eventually got a management contract and a good agency and upped our profile enough that we were, along with 'The Stone Roses' the first signings to the new 'Silvertone' label where we made our last album as the band, an album I had the pleasure of playing with Mark Kopfler, eric Clapton, Tanita Tikaram amongst others. The music Bizz took it's toll on the band and we split up a year or so afterwards, however Brendan and I went on to be in another band shortly afterwards. A band that WAS very successful....'The Notting Hillbillies' .
Those years together really were my formative years both musically and personally. We had so many adventures around the world, got into some amazing 'scrapes' , laughed, cried and everything in between. Brendan Croker and Mark Cresswell are engrained in my psyche .
Brendan was a one off. He was eccentric, sometimes seemed to talk in riddles but was always a kind and generous soul. His artistic vision was unfaltering and no one could mould him into anything other than being 'Brendan' . My friend described him as having a 'beautiful madness' and I think anyone who knew him would agree with that. He was a true artist in the proper sense of the word and I'm glad to have traveled that path with him through amazing times.
My thoughts are with his partner Ali at this time, they were a special couple Brendan and Ali
here's pic of the 5 O'clock shadows doing what we did so well.
R.I.P Brendan ..'now you've died and gone to heaven, you'll find no policemen there. So go to sleep you weary Hobo
xxxx
