Clive Bradley's body was at Desperadoes Pan Yard from 8:00 am to 10:00 am on Friday 2nd December 2005. Funeral Services for Clive Bradley was held at 10:00 am on Friday 2nd December, 2005 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Independence Square Port of Spain thence to the Diego Martin Cemetery for burial.
Moving send-off for pan icon Bradley
by Joan Rampersad, newsday.co.tt
December 03, 2005
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Hundreds turned up for the funeral of ace arranger and pan icon, Clive Bradley, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception yesterday.
It was a virtual who's who of the pan fraternity and the "hill" that converged on the church.
Bradley, clothed in white suit, grey shirt and with two red roses in his lapel, bore a most peaceful look on his face while his body lay at the church with background music coming from the Witco Desperadoes.
In a moving tribute to Bradley, Junior Culture Minister, Eddie Hart, stated: "A hero has fallen. Clive Bradley was a master musician in a class of his own, and a cut above the rest with his arrangements. Panorama will not be the same without Bradley. He is gone but not forgotten. His music will always live on."
The minister expressed the hope that young arrangers would work hard for the nation to see another one like Bradley. "May his soul rest in peace and may he rise in glory," ended Hart.
The eulogy and tributes took about an hour to complete, starting with Bradley's daughter, Kelly-Ann, who told the gathering that even though her father was very involved in his music, he still found the time to be a dedicated father to her and her siblings, Karen and Kirwin. "His emphasis was on education. He taught us to read and write and was strict on lessons, but he also taught us that life was also about having fun," Kelly-Ann said.
She also recalled his "sandpaper rough beard" of which she said, "I will miss so much." However, Kelly-Ann said the fact that her father's death came on her 21st birthday made it even more painful, and it was as if she had been sent a message - that she "has to make it on her own from her own."
Former arranger of Desperadoes, Robert Greenidge, then played Gounod's version of Ave Maria, after which band manager, Dr Finbar Fletcher, said, "Clive's spirit and music will live on in all of us. He was no ordinary man. He was a teacher, a thinker and musician. His unique style paralleled the unique sound of the Witco Desperadoes." After listing most of the achievements of the band with Bradley as arranger from 1968 to 1985, and from 1999 to the present, Fletcher said that Bradley's genius made his learning curve much shorter. "He selected music that captured the mood of Laventille, and for the Pan in the 21st Century, when he selected ‘Ordinary People,' it meant to say that even though we are from Laventille, we are no ordinary people."
Fletcher noted that whenever Bradley came with his "jamette look" and his mischievous grin to the panyard, they were sure of another genius piece of musical genius.
Fellow arranger Len "Boogsie" Sharpe followed with the playing of "Party Tonight" before leading the congregation in the singing of "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." Like Greenidge, he too was applauded.
Chief celebrant at the service, Fr Clyde Harvey, then extemporaneously sang "Bradley row the boat Ashore, Alleluia, Bradley row the boat Ashore, Alleluia, Panorama near competition stiff, Alleluia, Despers come from up the hill, Alleluia."
In his tribute, Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold said Bradley was one of a kind, always engaged in lively, humorous and intelligent conversation, and unmatched in the field of music arrangers.
He said Panorama would never be the same without Bradley, and then announced that Panorama 2006 will be held in tribute to Bradley.
Earl Brooks' contribution included "Amazing Grace" after which Witco's Anthony Phillip recognised Bradley for his genius and contribution to Desperadoes. He said Bradley was a legend and the key to the success of the band.
Another touching moment came with the playing of "Ordinary People" by Desperadoes. It was Bradley's second to last winner up to his passing.
"A man and a band with a rhythm of the land. Clive Bradley stands as a symbol of who we are as a people," said Fr Harvey to begin his sermon.
He added that Bradley often used the minor key in his music with undercurrents of grief and pain, and no one really saw it. He spoke of the pains arrangers go through to please everyone. "But there is something about a pan that allows the spirit to flow. Bradley's spirit must be secured and allowed to live," Fr Harvey said before asking all music makers in the congregation to stand.
He then thanked them for their music. Among those musicians were Ray Holman, Pelham Goddard, Roy Cape, Greenidge, Brooks, Merle Albino-de Coteau, Michael Boothman and Dougie Redon.
At the end of the service, Witco Desperadoes played "When Will I see You Again," after which Bradley's hearse was escorted by the police to the Diego Martin Cemetery for interment.
Funeral Services and Tribute to Clive Bradley Album at:
www.trinbagopan.com/gallery/Tribute-to-Bradley
- Master Musician Clive Bradley dies
- Tribute to the Legend Clive Bradley - 27th Nov. 2005
- Tribute to the Legend Clive Bradley - 28th Nov. 2005
- Tribute to the Legend Clive Bradley - 30th Nov. 2005
- Tribute to the Legend Clive Bradley - 02nd Dec. 2005 - Pt 1
- Tribute to the Legend Clive Bradley - 02nd Dec. 2005 - Pt 2
Tribute to Bradley Homepage | Trinbago Pan Homepage
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