obituaries/tributes


wanted to have a go writing them. A couple of months later, I logged on to the site and there he was, at work on his first match, an ODI between England and Australia at Edgbaston. Which, of course, was rained off. So, in the best spirit of over-by-over cricket, Dan spent the next few hours chatting to the few remaining readers about poetry, Bruce Springsteen and Ashley Giles’ new hairdo.”


His passing came six days before the Ian Bell


The famous Jinglin’ Geordie pub in Edinburgh was packed on the evening of 12 March for a tribute to radical journalist and writer Ian Bell (1956- 2015), organised by NUJ Edinburgh branch, of which Bell was a member. Chair Iain Macwhirter remembered that his first column was commissioned by Bell in 1990 as editor of the Scottish edition of The Observer. ‘It was a privilege to work alongside a writer who made political commentary into a literary art form.’


Sean Bell, Ian’s son, said: ‘Dad didn’t fit into


most people’s preconceived notions ... journalists were meant to be cynical and untrustworthy, not principled and idealistic. When he passed away, I gained an understanding of just how many lives he had touched, and what an effect he had on the country.’ Susan Flockhart spoke of the immense


contribution Ian had made to the Sunday Herald. ‘Marking our eighteenth birthday recently, the editorial team were reminded again that there’s not a week goes by when we don’t wish we could seek Ian’s unique perspective.’ Jackie McGlone, Bell’s deputy when he was editor of Observer Scotland from 1988 to 1990, remembered Ian arriving agonisingly late after convivial sessions the previous evening, but ‘an hour later there would be 1,100 perfectly crafted, cogently argued words with not a literal in sight.’ • Edinburgh NUJ branch and Bell’s family are setting up an award for young writers in his name. Donations towards this are most welcome. For details, contact hilaryhorrocks@ btinternet.com


Hilary Horrocks Dan Lucas


Colleagues and friends have been shocked and saddened by the sudden death of sport and music writer Dan Lucas, who died suddenly of heart failure on 12 March aged 31. Dan wrote for the music websites Drowned in Sound and Louder Than War, and later on sport for the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, where he became a stalwart of their popular cricket and rugby union liveblogs. Born in Northampton to parents Gary and


Tracey, and older brother to his sister Kirsty, he studied at Lancaster University, where he first indulged his passion for music journalism, writing gig reviews for a blog called Noise Noise Noise. He later began writing for Drowned in Sound and Louder than War, which he came to edit, and through which he met his girlfriend Liz Aubrey. He was also a contributor to the US music magazine Under the Radar and the website Gigwise. He broke into sports journalism in 2013, landing shifts at the Telegraph and Guardian, where he swiftly applied his talents, quick- wittedness and knowledge to live-blogging, particularly on cricket and rugby union. And he didn’t need to be asked twice to join the NUJ. He signed up straight away. As a writer, he understood instinctively that


live-blogging had its own specific skills and tone, and how to relate to readers. He could commentate with great humour, knowledge and passion; he could be opinionated without being pompous, sharp and funny without being too showy. The Guardian sports writer Andy Bull wrote


of Dan’s breakthrough: “I first met him in June 2013, when he wrote to ask whether there was any work going at the Guardian. He had been emailing in contributions to our over-by-over cricket commentaries for a while already, and


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concluding day of this year’s Six Nations, on which he had provided exhaustive minute-by- minute coverage for the Guardian throughout the tournament. Dan had been due to cover the final day’s matches, and the blog was inundated with warm tributes, a testament to the rapport he had struck up with many readers. One, Robin Hazlehurst, wrote: “For many of us the MBM is like a pub, where you drop in to watch the match and chat with your mates. It’s unbelievable to think that Dan’s stool at the bar will be empty for other matches. It won’t be the same without him. He always interacted with readers like a true gent and a genuine mate, even emailing back about things on occasion, and debating keenly in the commentary.” John Robb, who worked with him at Louder


than War, described him as “a wonderful, passionate and fiercely intelligent person ¬… It was an honour to talk and argue music with you in the time that I knew you from when you started writing for Louder Than War and then became my first music editor. These impassioned music conversations would continue when we met as well. Great debates. Great music passion.” I personally worked with him mainly through cricket: I shared Guardian over-by-over commentary duties with Dan through many Test matches and one-day internationals, and he was always fun to work alongside. He was friendly and knowledgeable across a range of subjects. He loved the job and it showed in his work, and in any piece of commentary he could blend sport, music, TV and politics with lightness of touch and great skill. He will be missed enormously. Dan’s death was a result of sudden heart


failure caused by undiagnosed Coronary Heart Disease and a small gastric bleed, all were exacerbated by a lifetime of suffering from Type 1 Diabetes. His family have set up a JustGiving page for the diabetes research charity JDRF in his memory. Donations can be made here – https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tracey-lucas3


Tom Davies


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