Stanley Wilson Brennan, BA (died 2 May 2019, aged 68)
Obituary provided by Sophie Richmond
Stan was born on 2 December 1950, second child of Stanley and Nell Brennan, a brother for Maureen. The family lived in Soudan Street, in the Village in Belfast. He passed the 11+ and went to Annadale School. He loved art, history, and music and was persuaded not to go to art college, instead studying Russian and American literature and history at Queen’s University Belfast.
At Queen’s he and a couple of friends ran the Esoteric Music Society, first listening to the music they loved together, then organising gigs and bringing over bands. Stan and a friend from Queen’s made an epic journey to Africa, travelling down to Spain, taking a boat to Mauretania and going as far as Ghana before heading back across the Sahara. He then settled in London where he became a partner in a collectors’ record shop and started his own label, Soho Records. He was a friend of Shane MacGowan and produced the Pogues’ first album. Later in life he became a psychotherapist, seeing individuals and couples, and running groups.
He and his partner Sophie had two children, Jack and Maeve. In the last decade of his life, he and his new partner Jo travelled widely. Stan spent his spare time painting and learning to play guitar; he also wrote many songs and recorded them with an old friend from Belfast.
He was a loving father and a loyal friend. As well as music, he loved tennis, walking, swimming and cycling. He was good company and throughout his life would keep up the spirits of everyone around him with an endless stream of jokes. For many years, he was a strong advocate for the human rights of Palestinians within Israel and in the occupied territories.
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