Fiona Haycock

Music Week on Friday broke the news on Friday that one of the UK’s most highly-regarded music events organisers, FIONA HAYCOCK, had died on August 31st at the age of 51 (full story). Chris Hodgkins, who worked with her for several years on the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, has sent us this tribute, with additional information from Jonathan Morrish:

I had the great pleasure of working with Fiona Haycock on the Parliamentary Jazz Awards since their inception in 2005 which PPL have sponsored from the beginning. Fiona first consulted for PPL in 2009, joined the company full time in 2010 as Head of Events and besides being responsible for the ‘Parlies’, as she nicknamed them, she also oversaw many PPL events and functions including the company AGM, the APM (the Annual Performer Meeting) and the renowned company Christmas drinks amongst many. I was grateful beyond measure that Fiona was a superb organiser, utterly unflappable; and when all around her were losing their heads, Fiona, like a stately galleon,  piled on the canvas and moved onward. Bound up with her impressive organisational skills was her sense of humour and her endless patience in handling people with egos.

Fiona had been involved in a number of other important awards, the Music Industry Trusts Award and the Silver Clef awards, Sony Radio Awards and the MOBOs. Fiona also worked as director of PR and events at the BPI from 1996-99, and events head at PPL from 2009-14. Her work at the Music Industry Awards helped raise substantial monies for the music business charities Nordoff Robbins and the BRIT Trust. In sadness.