I knew Joe best as a member of Special Measures, but I first heard his name when he was at Worthing High with my sons Luke and Sol:  Joe and Luke were put in a ‘university challenge’ Science competition together. Luke told me that Joe answered all the questions and carried the team through the first round single-handed, and probably would have done the same in the second round too, but his buzzer wasn’t working properly! Luke always suspected it was sabotage…
Luke and Sol and Ryan teamed up with Joe for their GCSE Music performance, and Special Measures was born. I finally got to meet the famous Joe MC and, of course, I was instantly charmed. Soon, his DM boots were a regular fixture in our hallway, and I had the joy of hearing that incredible voice floating down the stairs.
With Louise and Annette, I entered the dazzling, exhilarating, humbling, occasionally exasperating world of being a Special Measures Mum. Our boys rehearsed, played gigs, survived teenage angst and ‘musical differences’, partied, made an EP, made a video, never once passed on a message, laughed and laughed and laughed … and genuinely adored one another and delighted in each other’s company. It was a joy to watch them blossom separately and together, and also to watch Joe develop into a fully-fledged front-man, bringing all his wit, warmth, personality, talent and charm to the stage, clearly loving being up there, feeding off the crowd.
Last September, Luke went to Bristol and Sol stayed in Worthing. Sol and Joe began to spend more and more time together and a firm friendship developed. Sol would say, “If I’m not in, I’m at Joe’s.”  When people asked me how Sol felt about his twin going away or how I felt about Sol not going to university, I always joked that it was ok because, in Joe, he had found another twin, and a university-level education. I lost count of the times I said, after Sol recounted some wise or funny thing that Joe had said, or talked about their latest cultural discovery, “I’m so glad you’ve got a friend like Joe.”
I don’t know what we’re going to do without him.
We are all in this horrible place; at the very beginning of our journey in a world without Joe, too stunned even to begin to understand the size of our loss.  It has been overwhelming to learn about the incredible young people who loved Joe and were loved by him, and to watch them pull together to support each other in their grief. They – you ─ really are his legacy. You will never forget what he taught you. You will never forget how he made you feel. He is a part of you. I’m so glad we all had him in our lives.