his best friends' thoughts about him

About Garys death; when I first heard of this , I was very shocked and sad not only for him but for his Mum and Dad. As I know that when I left New Zealand in 1966 for the UK my parents came to the port to see me off and my Mum cried as the ship left port. As she probably wondered when she would ever see me again. As I said in my story, I was with Gary when he first started smokeing pot and takeing pills and this was entirely his choice. But I didn't ever think that it could have got that bad. When I heard of his passing some feeling deep inside of me, knew that someday this could have probably happened. As when I used to write and send Mum photos from Germany, I wrote on the back of one photo "notice how thin Gary is"; him standing alone on stage playing his bass. I could see that he wasn't looking after himself properly. Now that I'm now 55 years old I have Gary in mind, how I knew him. He was a dear young guy with an above average talent, who lived for his music. And he had a strong desire to succeed but got caught up in fast life without any caring guidance.
by Dave Chapman

See Dave Chapman's photos with Gary in 1965 - 1966
Read the story to the photos

Well Gary was one hell of a guy and one hell of a bass player. With his melodic bass lines and forming a tight rhythm section playing with Lee he really took UH on to another level. Gary had a style and persona on stage and on record that was an inspiration to a million other bass players. I think of Gary often especially on stage and on our last studio CD " Sonic Origami " I co-wrote a song called " Between Two Worlds " which explained in the lyrics how great it would be for there to be a meeting place between the real world and the spiritual world so we could see how he is doing. One thing's for sure he would have his Fender Bass in his hand. Gary was very much his own man. He had a loveable side to him that shone through everything and he also had a wicked sense of humour. A one off character in every sense of the word and I miss him terribly.
by Mick Box

He was a very wonderful musician. When we were at a tour, I shared a room with him ... He was very good, he always improved our music ... He didn't talk about his family in New Zealand, he only said that he learned the bass in a very strange way ... He wasn't really quiet or really loud, he liked to be alone, because he thought that the others were very silly ... He always phoned me when he had problems, sometimes we talked all the night long ... Some days before his death he phoned me again. And again on the day of his dead, but when I arrived he wan't there anymore. Some said he was the most talented in the band, but ... without Ken Hensley, I think, how could he be the best, when Ken did so much? But he was a very, very wonderful bass player!
by Miller Anderson

He was a very friendly person, very quiet. He was a man who stood alone at parties and thought ... He was the most talented musician in the band
by Ken Hensley