Extremely sad news from MusicMann 279 in the Isle of Man

James Michael Evans 1949 - 2000

It is with deep regret that we report the death of one of the most valued members of our team. Jim Evans was one of the project's founders and with his highly-specialised expertise in broadcast legislation and planning matters, he had been instrumental in taking our project from concept to reality. On the morning of Friday 12th May, he felt unwell and was advised to go home and rest. Jim collapsed as he got to his car and was pronounced dead at the Hull Royal Infirmary at lunchtime.

James was born in Wales at Pontypridd, the town a little to the north of Cardiff, where the Welsh national anthem was written and first performed. He went to the local grammar school before the University of Leicester where he got his law degree. James was offered a research grant to contribute to the reforms of Company Law planned for the seventies and early eighties, but turned it down to do practical rather than academic work. After qualifying exams he joined the Courts Service in Suffolk and subsequently migrated with it to East Yorkshire.

Locally headhunted for the predecessor to today's Crown Prosecution Service, in the late seventies he became the youngest person to become a Deputy County Prosecutor, the highest practical, non-deskbound position in the service. He was subsequently to leave for private practice when the CPS was founded to avoid the drop in standards mooted for the new CPS and to move away from criminal work. Once in private practice and with a burgeoning client base in the engineering business, he began his involvement in broadcasting legislation in Europe and beyond. He became internationally known as having an intimate knowledge of legislation concerning international broadcasting. James was fluent in Spanish, French, Welsh and Gaelic as well as in English and was also a practiced speaker of Latin.

James joined a local municipal authority to further develop his skills in town and country planning and health and safety law. In the reorganisation of local government, he was invited to return to private practice to set up a town and country law department in an East Yorkshire firm of solicitors. He later joined a large firm of city solicitors in Hull, Max Gold and Company, which has links to a major media practice in London.

James made a substantial contribution to IoMIBC in marshalling the constitutional and European legal arguments with the Crown, which directly led to the Isle of Man being enabled to license our station.

"Jim was one of the most brilliant lawyers imaginable," commented IoMIBC's founder, Paul Rusling. "His knowledge of legislation was encyclopaedic, his love for music and Celtic culture immeasurable. But he was much more than just an accomplished academic; Jim was a fun-loving vibrant person with a wonderful sense of humour, always ready to laugh at pomposity in his own profession. His only failing was that we was a workaholic and never refused to help anyone, even the most hopeless cases which Jim knew would never be able to afford his fees, he would help them in every way imaginable and often at his own expense."

In his private life, James was a keen fell walker, an Extraordinary Minister of the Communion at his church and was greatly interested in all things Celtic. He was much admired by many children who he encouraged to study and be proficient linguists. He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary, who is a popular housing officer in the city of Hull.

"Working with Jim was always great fun and often highly instructive," says Geoff Holliman, our Marketing Director. "I was enormously impressed by his incisive intellect, his sound and balanced judgement and his wonderfully wicked sense of humour. His contribution to our project was unequalled and irreplaceable. Jim was a wonderful and generous man who will be greatly missed."

"Jim believed fervently in this project, that the Isle of Man (and other Celtic countries) should have a powerful voice, heard across a wide area," explained Paul Rusling. "He was determined that our station should be a respected, yet fun-based, operation and fought long and hard to make this a success - the station's launch will become a fitting memorial to one of life's real gentlemen."