Today, The Exchange shared the sad news that their head sound engineer Paul Jocelyn passed away yesterday (22 May). Jocelyn – known to his friends and colleagues as ‘PJ’ – was a respected and well-known member of the team at the Bristol venue, also known for his stellar work at The Croft, The Fleece And Firkin and The Louisiana, as well as working on projects in his own recording studio.
“Paul’s enthusiasm, approach and unique sense of humour meant that he made a lot of friends through his job and I know the Bristol Music Community will be deeply saddened by this news,” The Exchange’s Matt Otridge commented. “Our thoughts go out to Paul’s family and in particular his son and daughter, Sam and Louise.”
Bands, artists, PRs and venue staff began paying tribute to the beloved sound engineer today, with some stating his passing as ‘a huge loss to the community’. You can see some of the tributes below.
Very sad to learn of Paul Jocelyn’s passing. He was behind the desk at my first ever gigs at 18 & plenty since. I’ll miss his face & skills.
— Alex Bertram-Powell (@AlexBPArt) May 23, 2017
Yes sad news to me also. Paul helped us loads at the Cube and many other times & places & always went beyond the call of duty. RIP Paul https://t.co/xnJGYoWH9q
— hogge (@photosonics) May 23, 2017
It is with great sadness that last night we heard of the passing of Paul Jocelyn. Our thoughts are with PJ & his family.
— Louisiana Bristol (@LouisianaBris) May 23, 2017
BLM’s Editor-in-Chief Loki Lillistone said; “PJ was that rare mix of lovely bloke and spot on at what he did. I had some of my best early experiences in music playing The Croft as a teenager, and Paul’s patience and kindness was a big part of that. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of his help on everything from BLM shows to simply helping me move house. I’m just one of the countless musos he’s touched over the years, it’s an understatement to say he will be sorely missed.”
Check out some more memories of PJ in our Croft documentary below, starting around the 4-minute mark.
