Remembering Chris Bevington

Today’s memory taper is Sam Haddad from Hove. Her memory tape is inspired by her friendship with Chris Bevington, who tragically passed away in the 2017 Stockholm lorry attack.

“I’m all too aware I’m only telling half the story of a friendship here. It would work a lot better with Chris’s comments in the margin but still it’s better to tell half a story than not tell it all. Friendships are forged on a lot of things but from the start Chris and I were mates because of music. We met in the summer term of our first year at university in the mid 90s.”

• Tellin Stories – The Charlatans
• The State I’m In – Belle and Sebastian
• Paint the Silence – South
• Blinded by the Sun – The Sea Horses
• Californication – Red Hot Chili Pepper
• Nuthin But A G Thing – Dr.Dre featuring Snoop Dogg
• It Was A Good Day – Ice Cube
• ATLiens – Outkast
• Pain - De La Soul
• 93 Til Infinity – Souls of Mischief

“When we left university a lot of friends knew what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives and straight out the blocks set about doing it. We were less sure. We both felt the same kind of ennui with our lives, and these songs make me thing of those days.”

• Is This It – The Strokes
• Breathe – Telepopmusik
• The Rat – The Walkmen
• Gorecki or Gabriel – Lamb
• Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
• The Dark Is Rising – Mercury Rev
• I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From – Kings of Convenience

“Then it all kind of worked out. We both got jobs, him at Warner Music, me at a magazine. The Streets were on 679, part of Warner at the time and this whole album really soundtracked those days.”

• Turn The Page/Weak Become Heroes – The Streets
• Helicopter – Bloc Party
• When The Sun Goes Down – Arctic Monkeys
• Sunset Coming On – Mali Music
• All My Friends – LCD Soundsytem

“As important as tight friendships are it’s also completely amazing when one of your best friends falls in love. I knew right away when he brought the women who would become his future wife to DJ Shadow that she was the one for him. He moved to Sweden so geography and later kids made meeting up more tricky but highlights from our 30s include Blur and Empire of the Sun gigs, dancing while rocking our kids in buggies.”

• To The End – Blur
• Walking On A Dream – Empire of the Sun
• Midnight In A Perfect World or Organ Donor – DJ Shadow
• An Ending, A Beginning – Dustin O’Halloran
• Spanish Sahara – Foals

“I haven’t mentioned James my husband yet but he was at uni with us and a long-time best friend of Chris too. It’s unusual in a couple to have a friend that you’re both so close to, but that’s how it was with us. Slide Away is the ultimate James and Chris song.”

• Slide Away – Oasis

“We were a trio for a long time and Radiohead was our favourite band. Last year we’d bought tickets to go and see them in Stockholm with Chris. We all went anyway with his amazing wife. The first two songs were very emotional but after that it became quite cathartic musical therapy.”

• Where I End And You Begin or Reckoner – Radiohead

“So this is where it starts to get sad. The lyrics of Sunscreen always resonated for us as it came out just after we left Uni. I feel I’ve spent much of my life wondering what the thing that would “blindside me on some idle Tuesday at 4pm” would be. His death came on a Friday but the effect was the same, we were blindsided.”

• Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) – Baz Luhrmann

“I couldn’t listen to music that reminded me of him at first but I kept the radio on and the sensory overload of it all means that a lot of songs from last April’s 6 music playlist have taken on an eerie significance and now give me goosebumps from the first chords.”

• Melin Wynt – King Creosote
• Apocalypse– Cigarettes After Sex
• Slomo – Slowdive
• Gentle Storm – Elbow

“Then you suddenly find yourself mining your best friend’s playlists trying to suggest songs for his funeral. Ben from Band of Horses played at his funeral, he did a version of Nick Cave’s Into Your Arms that cut through us all in the most unfathomably beautiful yet horrific way. People talk a lot about growing old with a partner but I just never considered how it would feel to not get the chance to grow old with one of your best friends. As a friendship group we used to dance and air-guitar to this a lot at birthdays and weddings:

• Sweet Child Of Mine – Guns n Roses

New music keeps coming out and it’s super-tough not being able to discuss it. I guess it’s a reminder that life moves forward and you’ve always got to look for the chinks of light. We find them whenever we’re listening to music or going to gigs, as that’s when we think of him most. And I think he’d like it that way. Dedicated to his amazing wife and kids, his lovely family, his best friends James, Jez and Matt, and everyone on our ‘Crew’ Whatsapp. The last year would have been impossible without you.”

http://thechrisbevingtonfoundation.org/

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