A Business Lesson

“Can you lend me some money dad?”

We are standing outside Louise’s bedroom and she tells me that she wants to put on a gig. 

“I will if you can show me how I’m going to get it back” I tell her. Off she goes and comes back later with a page setting out what she needs to spend – deposit for the venue, cash up front for the sound engineer, cost of flyers, and what she expects to get on the door. I am impressed and cough up the required cash.

Nevertheless I am very proud of her when the day after the event she pulls a wad of tenners out of her jeans and pays me back. I was pretty amazed that the venue, Egg, would even rent itself out to a 16 year old but I guess she did not tell them!

Other gigs followed including the successful ‘Indie Speed Dating’ night at Nambucca. A pair of my shoes featured on the flyer for that one. She did have one upset when she ran an event at Madame JoJos in Soho. 

“It’s all the fault of that stupid person on the door” she tells me. Bands and DJs had been booked but nearly everyone who came told the door that they were on the guest list and got in without paying. I bailed her out and she then dutifully paid me back a bit at a time out of future profits. After a few months I let her off the balance but a good lesson in entrepreneurship was learned!

A Country Girl

Those friends who remember Louise DeeJaying in the West End, selling vintage clothes in Camden Market or just holding forth in the Good Mixer or the Marathon may be surprised to know that at least for the first years of her life she was a country girl. We lived in Blewbury, a village in South Oxfordshire on the edge of the Downs. In our first cottage we had fields outside the front door and after moving we had a big garden on the edge of the Downs. Louise loved to play outside with her friends and at Easter we would see who could roll an egg the furthest down the side of the local chalk pit. Here she is on a sunny Spring day rather like today in London.

Our darling Louise


19 April: well done Camden New Journal for publicising the attack on the Bench. You can read their article here.

9 March: a huge thank you to everyone who made the memorial gig such a great success on Wednesday including Jeff, all the bands and the music committee. The video of the event is here.

4 March: Vicky writes an article for The Observer newspaper one year on which you can read here.

2 March: one year on and we celebrate the memory of Louise. A lovely surprise this morning is this great film from Rachel which you can see here.

29 February: Tim Arnold, the “Soho Hobo” has recorded a great song about Louise. He has made a lovely video to go with this that you can see at The Soho Hobo website. You can buy the single as a download from iTunes or order a CD from us, signed by Tim, in the beautiful “Andy Warhol style” cover that he designed – click here for details.

30 December: We scattered some of Louise’s ashes down the Swiss Wall, one of the steepest runs in Champery and one of Louise’s favourites. A shaky video is at the bottom of the movies page. I have also created a new page with photos of Louise’s bench and of the memorial in Kensington Gardens.

Thank you to everyone for meeting up by the bench and on Primrose Hill on Louise’s birthday.  Some photos of the evening are on the photos page. There is also a short video of the chaos on Primrose Hill on the movies page.

We found a link to many of Louise’s photos and creations. You can link to it click here . You can see the video of the memorial with all of the performances and our family tributes to Louise together with the many memories and tributes here . Many thanks to everyone who made the memorial such a great success.  Vicky’s Diary of the day is on the Diary section and your tributes under Tributes.  We showed lots of pictures of Louise as a child and growing up at the Memorial and I have loaded many of these into a new gallery on the photos page. Zia, Dot and Zac also took lots of photos at the memorial which are loaded under the Send Off tab.

Vicky’s latest TV appearance was on BBC Breakfast on 21 July. You can watch this on our TV and Radio page here along with an interview by Gabby Logan on “The Wright Stuff Extra” and an appearance on Channel 5 News. Vicky has also been interviewed by both Woman’s Hour and Radio 5 Live. We have loaded both interviews onto the newly named Press and Radio section of the site. BBC London have also run a story which you can find here.

In early July we send off some Magic Lanterns for Louise while up at Binstock in Norfolk. A video is at the bottom of the Movies page along with a great clip that Tim Arnold sent us of Louise on stage with him at Koko back in 2004.

We have started putting some of Louise’s work up on the site – art projects, writing and photos.  The first items are under the “Works” tab.

Three cheers to the FHS girls who have got clearance from Camden to place a memorial bench for Lou outside the Roundhouse.  This will be opposite the Marathon Kebab House – scene of much jolity, parties and late night impromtu performances.


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