Well well - what can I possibly even begin to say about my good friend Jamie that will do him just an ounce of justice! I first met Jamie when I was about 16; I was on a night out in Nuneaton and one of my good friends introduced me to him. At the time I was taken a bit back as he was very loud and extrovert but I quickly warmed to him…. mainly due to the fact that he was one of the funniest characters I had ever come across and such a warm and friendly personality. I was with a few girl's at the time as there was a large group of us. It was clear to see that Jamie had took a shine to them (I say THEM as he took a shine to EVERY single girl in the group!! Most people would pick one girl, however Jamie wanted to have a crack at ALL of them!!) The first thing Jamie did was to show them his favourite piercing (Let's just say it was in a very intimate place on his body!!!!) The girls screamed (mainly out of pure shock) Jamie laughed his head off…. it was one of the funniest introductions I have ever witnessed and still is to this day!! This bring's me to the first thing that comes to mind when anyone mentions the name Jamie Greenhough; and that is that he really never did care what anyone thinks about him and was always totally fearless in any situation!! Love him or hate him, everyone who came across Jamie could respect him for this!!! What he said is what you got - this term gets thrown around a lot but in Jamie's case it could not be any more true. Jamie was Jamie no matter what situation he was in. Following this insane encounter, for the next few years I saw Jamie out and about here and there; at various house parties all over the Midlands. We were good acquaintances at the time and every time I saw him I had to tell everyone the story…. at which point he would proceed to whip out the piercing again to everyones shock and amusement!! As I said - a totally fearless guy!!! I then lost contact with Jamie as I went off to University. A few years later one of my friends Matthew Bayley said that his mate was going to pop over to our local watering hole for a drink. Much to my surprise it was none other than the one and only Jamie Greenhough!!! And by the time I saw him he was about 100 times the size as he had spent a lot of time training. One thing that he was totally committed to and I have nothing but respect for him on this. The amount of commitment it takes to get into the shape he was is mind boggling. Not to mention having to devour lots of strange concoctions such as tuna milkshakes which he always enjoyed telling us about. Thankfully, he had lost the piercing at that point which I was kind of glad about as we were in a family pub after all and I wouldn't put anything past him!!! We then made it a ritual to head for some drinks on a regular basis and I can say that is was around this time that we became proper friends! I've lost count of the amount of great nights we had; whether being a night out in Ashby, Birmingham, Tamworth or wherever or just a few ales down the local. Wherever we were, one thing was always certain - his entrance would always make an impact and he would always be the centre of attention. Not because he strived for this but purely because Jamie was Jamie and no situation would ever make him act any different. He was a proper character in the truest sense of the word and I am sure everyone who met him can agree with that!! Being a music events promoter in Birmingham, I used to put on quite a few large scale events. I had one particular show which was a 2,500 capacity event and had sold out. I was chatting to the lads about the fact that my backstage area always seemed to get invaded by people that shouldn't be there (generally people looking for free drinks!!) Jamie volunteered to help out and be security for the backstage area. Knowing that I could trust him to do a great job and not let people back there to rinse the free drinks, I took him up on this offer. He turned up to the event in a shirt and tie (I almost fainted as have never seen him looking that smart before!) and I briefed him on where he needed to go etc. The night kicked off and as always I had to be in 5 places at once so I left Jamie to handle the backstage area on his own. I thought nothing of it until I went back to see him after an hour or so and I asked him how everything went to which he replied "Yeah everything has been fine apart from I had to knock back a some guy called Long John and a couple of his mates. They looked pretty mean and wouldn't take no for an answer but I sorted them out good an proper" Just to give you a bit of background, Long John is about 6ft 7 and he keeps some very dodgy company. In fact he is connected with one of the most notorious gangs in Birmingham and lets just say that so far no member of any security have ever confronted him and his associates about going backstage in the history of the venue. Basically Long John and his associates can go where he wants and NO ONE can stop him… Well that was until they came across Jamie Greenhough! I asked Jamie - what exactly happened…. "He turned up, said he's going in there and I told him to get lost. He then turned up with a couple of other dodgy people and I told them all they would have to get through me first!" I immediately panicked, knowing what these guys can be capable of and went and tracked Long John down to apologise… to which he said: "Damian, I could see in your boys eye's he meant it. NO ONE stands up to me and I respect him for that" A few hours later once his shift had finished, I saw Jamie having a drink with Long John and his pals!!! I guess they also warmed to his personality and had the same level of respect for Jamie as we all do. To this day, no other security at that venue stood up to these people the way Jamie did in the 15 years it was running as a venue!! I've had security about twice the size of Jamie shy away from these people. As I said previously - Jamie was a totally fearless and courageous character. When I think of Jamie I think of a truly independent and strong minded character in every sense of the word. Even with his near fatal accident last year which saw him in a coma for a significant period and all doctors with no hope for his survival. I honestly believe it was Jamies sheer determination and courage that saw him come out of his coma. I was told at the time that the doctors were 99% sure he wouldn't make it. Most people would lose hope in this situation as 99% is pretty bad odds! however Jamie WAS NEVER the 99%, NEVER the majority…. he was a one of a kind. I would say one in a million but even that would not do him justice. It is a real shame he had a few bumpy patches in his life and he had some very unfortunate circumstances to deal with in his life. The level of courage and inner strength it must have took in order to get through what he got through is unfathomable. Not many people can come out of what he went through and keep a smile on their face. I just wish that he had held on for a bit longer as I am sure we all do. We all know he was taken away from us way too early and his ending can only be described as tragic. Life is not fair in this respect and it's only now that I appreciate the saying the "the good die young" - maybe he was needed somewhere else, maybe if there is a god, god needed someone to man the gates of heaven and keep all the undesirables out!!!! One thing is for sure - NO ONE would be able to get past him!!! We always had an absolute ball and he would do anything for his friends and family and I have nothing but fond memories of him… I could sit here forever telling stories (some of them are way too inappropriate for a public forum!!) I will personally miss his character but with this in mind his spirit will live on in all of us. I have learnt a lot from Jamie…. sometimes in life it's best not to give a damn about what anyone thinks of you and just be yourself. Also to remain strong and determined and not to take crap from ANYONE in ANY situation - although I can only hope that I have a fraction of his courage and tenacity in this respect. I hope you are now at peace Jamie - we will all miss you dearly but as Jamie would most likely say - "at least I left a good looking corpse!!" I would say "all my love" but I know you would absolutely rip me to bits!!!! See you on the other side Brother!! Will think of you each and every day that goes by and learn from the experiences we had together. Damian XXXXXX (again you would tear me to bits for putting kisses on this but I really don't care!!)