“I love the fact that you help people around the world, and what you do makes such a huge difference to their lives. And with House music being a massive passion of mine, it makes your charity one of the coolest around.”
Meet Davey Brown – Artist and L O N G T I M E friend, ambassador and fundraiser of LNADJ.
Newcastle-based artist Davey Brown specialises in pop art/monochrome portraits of footballers, boxers, and music/film legends and has created a Legends of Cafe Mambo collection. This year, he’s turned his talents into The Queens of House and Soul collection, which will be showcased in London next week at a very special event.
Ahead of the event, which will help raise funds for our work, we caught up with Davey to find out what drives him to change lives and save lives with LNADJ.
Why did you get involved with LNADJ in the first place?
I saw LNADJ posts on Facebook, and over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know James and Jonny a little bit. I like to do my bit for charity whenever I can. At the time, I was doing an exhibition called ‘The History of House’ and when I came across LNADJ, it seemed a good idea to reach out because of the House music connection.
Why is our organisation important to you?
Last Night A DJ is important to me because I think the work you guys do is amazing, and I feel very proud to be able to help a little bit.
What do you love about us?
I love that you help people worldwide and what you do makes such a huge difference to their lives. And with House music being a massive passion of mine, it makes your charity one of the coolest around.
You recently donated a piece of work to our annual fundraising event, raising lots of money for the charity. Can you tell us about that piece of art and how it feels to know you did that?
I donated a portrait of Frankie Knuckles. He was my first favourite DJ and one of the pioneers of the music and the culture we fell in love with all those years ago. I have done a few portraits of Frankie; this particular painting is one of my favourites. It captures him perfectly (if I say so myself!) doing what he did best. I was blown away when I heard how much the painting went for at your fundraiser and it feels good to know that something I did will go towards helping LNADJ in what you do.
Can you tell us a bit about the event you have coming up and the piece you have created for it?
I am doing an exhibition called ‘The Queens of House and Soul’. It is a collection of 40 portraits of some of the greatest female singers from these two musical genres. The idea came about last March. I was watching a documentary about Motown. It was fascinating. Soul, Northern Soul and Motown were my first musical loves, then House music came along and that got me too.
The show featured some of the world’s best female singers and it got me thinking. Why not do an exhibition? I was scribbling down ideas until 3:00am, and after a few calls and texts the next day, the ‘The Queens of House and Soul’ art exhibition was born.
I’ve been to London a few times since then for meetings. I secured one of the most stylish and coolest venues in the capital, Q in Shoreditch, and I have been blessed with the most amazing musical line up.
Judge Jules, Gordon Mac and Craig Williams are DJing, plus House legend Angie Brown and rising star Phoebe O’Riordan are singing live. Thanks to Gordon Mac and the MiSoul family, the exhibition is getting a lot of interest. It’s on February 15th from 7pm to 2am. Entry is free.
I am doing an extra painting, which is going to be raffled off with all proceeds going to LNADJ. The portrait is of Aretha Franklin, a one-off exclusive original.
And finally, can you tell us about one record that changed or saved your life?
I honestly couldn’t pick just one record that has changed or saved my life. I have so many tunes that I love. Having said that, Frankie Knuckles’ Tears’ has a special place in my heart. I was in Ibiza when I first heard it. We were at Bar M in San Antonio. It was a scorching hot day, the place was rammed, the drinks were flowing, and the music was unreal. The atmosphere was already electric, then this tune dropped… “Dripping and dropping, and dropping and dripping”….. The whole place went up. What a moment. Every time I hear ‘Tears’, my mind drifts back to that day in Ibiza.
We hope you’ll join us next week at Q Shoreditch where you’ll be able to meet Davey and see his fantastic work up close. Head here for more information: https://www.q-shoreditch.com/event/15-02-24-the-queens-of-house-soul-art-exhibition and don’t forget to follow Davey Brown Art for more artistic musical treats.
Thank you for everything Davey!
Big Love,
Team LNADJ
