The obituary notice of Stephen JAMES

“Two fat ladies – 11 !”
One of the more abiding memories Stephen.
Barely teenagers we’d go for evening walks, on Mediterranean balmy summers, and so would Steve yell, over the top of the open-air Bingo caller…and run.
Surely not our proudest moment. But such fun.
Stephen - mischievous, fun-loving, idiosyncratic, brilliant. He had a way with words, especially oddball English words and phrases, that enthralled me…and which we continued to delight in and share right up to a few weeks ago.
From Stephen I learnt of the Goons: Bluebottle, Eccles, Moriarty – which he could imitate perfectly. He also introduced me to ‘fringe’ music: Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, BB King, G Moore….and more recently to electronic music and his label RedYellowRed which became his passion.
With a mind as sharp as a tack, an incisive wit and a sensitive nature, Stephen’s observations on life were profound and penetrating… even if they were, more often than not, cloaked in very, very funny pronouncements.
I learned a lot from Stephen and so enjoyed being with him.
He will be missed.
Fly high dear friend.
Claude

Such dreadful news.

I've known Stephen since the 1970s when we met up to play guitar, write songs and do some good and some awful gigs together. I learned such a lot from him. We stayed in touch and were playing together again very recently when he returned from the US.

In 2000 We went on a road-trip holiday around the Southern States together, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans (or as Stephen insisted on calling it, with a deep Captain Beefheart drawl, "N'awlins"). We even met Al Green and went to hear him preach on Easter Sunday.

Stephen was a great friend, superb musician, genuinely funny and a loving guy and I will miss him deeply.

Stephen came into our summers like sunshine - bringing laughter, stories and a kind of energy that made everything feel brighter. Every year, when he arrived in Malta with Siriol and his parents, it felt like the holidays truly began. Those days became the highlight of our childhood, shaped by his humour, his endless tales and the joy he brought so effortlessly.

He had a gift for making people laugh and a way of turning even the simplest moments into something unforgettable. Being around him was easy, fun and full of life.

Though those summers are now memories, they remain some of the happiest we carry with us - and so much of that is because of him. He will always be part of those golden days, and always remembered with a smile.
Claude Denise Edwina

Stephen will be greatly missed. A good friend and a genuinely nice chap.

All your friends in California at the Redlands Art Association are shocked and saddened by his passing. I had hoped to visit him some time in the future. We had wonderful fun doing art together. We will miss him terribly!