My dear friend Brendan Giles is no longer with us in this realm… I’ve not had the time to process hearing this news this morning via his mother Marilyn who had been trying to contact me since his passing in March. MARCH. I am beating myself up here for not knowing earlier.. I have no excuse.. life has been so stressful, so crazy lately that despite us last corresponding on the 8th of March, 2023 I hadn’t reached out since… To think he was gone 9 days later is just too hard a thought to maintain for the fear of breaking down or ending up in a cyclical thought process that won’t help. I want to celebrate his life as well as his presence in my life and what it did. 

My little brother in a lot of ways… I first met Brendan on the Machine Head forum wayyyy back in the early 2000s. He was 14.. I had seen someone on there attacking him and I liked this kid’s energy, his way of conversing and his obsession with Machine Head at the time. I leapt to his defence without question.. we began chatting not long after for it to only develop further into a friend whom I hold and always will hold dear. I can’t believe you’re gone from this world. A beautiful soul who deserved so very much more. So much more. 

If I’m not mistaken we first met up properly in June of 2007 when I was going over to Machine Head in Glasgow at The Academy. This was the night that would change my life forever and Brendan was there, with me, in one of my most precious moments, meeting the band for the first time. I took that photo of him with Robb Flynn. He took one of me with Robb but that is lost to the ether. Thankfully I still have this image for it is my favourite photo of Brendan… his happiness jumping from the image… Robb was so good to him that night and I’m choking up here thinking about it. 

He was with me later that year in Dublin, Ireland when I met the band again and was able to give them some personalised t-shirts I’d made. He was there in Paris the night things started to align… He was always there, if even at a distance. 

He was one of the first I told when I got the gig to go travel with Machine Head.. his encouragement and good will only served to elevate me… Over the years we remained in touch whereby I would see him wherever possible on the road… I have him forever immortalised in the live footage clip I cut to Machine Head’s Volatile which can be found here; 
https://youtu.be/ofrYISoFVlQ - He is at the 2:41 mark in his much loved PHRYME hoody. Ah man, I miss you so much. Grateful for those days we spent together then.. and that I was able to get you to meet up with Robb again in Manchester before the world went sideways a year and a half later. 

I am not sure what I am telling you this for but it feels good to write down. My friend’s memory will be here forever and that is a good thing. I want anyone who reads this to know that our world lost another decent, GOOD soul. I love and miss you my brother.

I’ve included some of my favourite photos of us because they’re such beautiful memories… 

 
Have a good flight out of here,
Rest in peace brother,
Fiaz