Gscene has learnt of the sad death of LGBT community activist David Harvey

‘My dear friend David Harvey passed away this morning after a long and brave battle with SARS-Covid19. His partner Clive asked me to write a tribute to the time we worked together. Here is it:

Within an hour of David passing away this morning, Clive was on the phone barking orders to those of us who had the privilege of working closely with David. It was something we were all very used to – but not coming from Clive. I’ve no doubt David is looking down beaming with pride and doing his famous belly laugh watching this all play out.

I met David in the spring of 2004 when I volunteered to help out at Brighton Pride HQ. At our first meeting we got on like old friends (he said a few weeks later “Janice I knew you were ‘PLU’ the second I met you”) and old friends we’ve remained ever since.

David had taken over as Brighton Pride’s Chair in 2003 at a point when the event was all but bankrupt and had completely lost its way. Together with a small group of trustees (who he hand picked) they set about stripping the event down to its bare bones. The first August festival under his leadership was pulled together by a group of hard working volunteers. It was a huge success and the following year they secured charitable status ensuring the event would be protected in the future. David stepped down from Brighton Pride after nearly 4 years where he had worked pretty much full time as an un-paid volunteer.

Our time working together at Pride and later running 3SIXTY with David Tuck was never easy but we always had an awful lot of fun in the process. David always had the knack of bringing the brightest and best people together and he loved watching them in action together. Most of these people are still his close friends – and that of course says so much about the kind of man David was. Yes he could be a right royal pain in the backside when he wanted to be – but we all loved him just the same (if not a bit more because he was generally right!).

This afternoon I’ve spoken to a couple of mutual friends who all worked with David at Brighton Pride and I asked them for a few words describing their memories from that time.

PJ Aldred said “he was a strong captain who was able to lead and steer whilst never taking any shit”.

Another friend Rob Burlace said: “Even though it didn’t always feel like it at the time, being with him whilst working on Pride was amazing and the trials we went through both tested – and proved – what a determined, loyal and morally strong character he had. A wonderful, if sometimes cantankerous, one in a million.”

Another old friend of David’s is Huw Edwards who was ‘talked’ into helping out with Brighton Pride in those early days. He said earlier: “I remember standing next to David on the balcony of the control point in Preston Park at the first Brighton Pride under David’s leadership. We were both totally overwhelmed at the sight of the huge, happy crowd. All of this happened thanks to David’s inspiration, persuasion, cajoling and sheer determination to provide a free Pride for the whole community” Last but not least I just heard from David Tuck who was David’s deputy Chair at Pride and later our partner in 3SIXTY magazine. Always a man of few words he texted me the following: “I’m so sorry. David was always very good to me.”

David stepped down from Pride in 2006 and the event continued to grow under a new group of people. However by 2010 Brighton Pride was floundering again thanks to weak management making poor decisions and the charity was soon dissolved. In 2011 David was living in Spain and wanted to keep out of it but a few of us managed to convince him to write an open letter to the current organisers telling them exactly what they were doing wrong and what they should be doing. His letter was widely published and within a year, pretty every one of his suggestions were taken on by a different group of organisers under a new style of commercial organisation (which was exactly what David had suggested was needed to save the event at that time).

David’s achievements in turning round Brighton Pride were extraordinary. I often said they should name a Brighton bus after him (all buses in the city are named after a famous resident) and he used to reply “I’m not dead yet Janice and when I am, my name had better not be just on the back of it!”.

Graeme and I send Clive, Carrie and Anne our deepest condolences. I’ve no doubt that there will be plenty more tributes and memories shared about David and I’m sure they will take comfort from reading them in the coming days and weeks.

David Harvey was one of a kind. I’m proud to have been able to call him my friend and I’m going to miss him more than I can say.

‘Au revoir’ Daisy May. I love you.’