It’s a ‘TRAVIS’ty let’s make it an ex’TRAV’aganza!
Donation protected
URGENT PLEASE RSVP SEE 5 DIFFERENT LINKS BELOW FOR TRAVIS FUNERAL SUNDAY 24TH ON SEPTEMBER. ALSO GO FUND ME FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T DONATED AND WISH TO
PLEASE SHARE ACROSSS PLATFORMS!
Update 18/09/2023-There was some confusion with one of the links and the address it provided for the after party, both the wake and after party are both at the same address in Epping Essex! Thank you for the select few who have donated so far on the gofundme page. Your donations have allowed me to fulfil my dads wish of having a Conga coffin and his dream hearse. The more support received, will allow me to fulfil as many of his wishes possible and bring them to fruition so we can give him the send off he deserves. Thank you.
RSVP FOR FUNKY SMITH PARTY BUS
8:00-9:15 open coffin viewing, also where the hearse will be leaving from, for those who wish to follow the procession
The Heartfelt Funeral Company
271 High Road
South Woodford
IG8 9EG
10:00am
RSVP LINK CITY LONDON CREMATORIUM E125DQ
https://www.partylabz.com/events/neva-a-travisty-funeral-cremator?guest=8ca4905c-e10d-4e3c-89c3-e992805c6d32#
RSVP LINK FOR CARIBBEAN FOOD ORDERS
12:30pm
RSVP LINK WAKE EPPING COUNTRY CLUB IG76BX
https://www.partylabz.com/events/neva-a-travisty-funeral-wake?guest=5289c881-3ebb-48fa-b4b8-8502f7faeca0#
https://www.partylabz.com/events/94ed6d30-c6e5-4a60-94ad-f9ddf768305f?guest=1c1bdd03-065e-40b7-9a89-059e9ad8356d#home
RSVP LINK AFTER PARTY SAME VENUE AS WAKE
https://www.partylabz.com/events/94ed6d30-c6e5-4a60-94ad-f9ddf768305f?guest=1c1bdd03-065e-40b7-9a89-059e9ad8356d#home
Update 08/09/2023- Thank you for the select few who have donated so far on the gofundme page. Your donations have allowed me to fulfil my dads wish of having a Conga coffin. The more support received, will allow me to fulfil as many of his wishes possible and bring them to fruition so we can give him the send off he deserves. Thank you.
Important note- to thank all donors, all donors are invited to the after party. Any donations above £20, can have access to a free pickup and drop off service from designated pickup/drop off points. We have secured FunkySmith party buses as a thank you to donors(please notify us if you require the bus service as it will be a first come first served basis for donors.) A flyer will be uploaded of all the MC’s/DJ’s who are attending and playing a set in tribute to my Dad- Travis/Satin Storm. A donation, big or small is requested in order to attend the after party to accommodate all the tributes and in making a lasting memory for my Pop’s farewell.
Hi, my name is Kristian and I am doing this fundraiser for my POPS (TRAVIS REYNOR EDWARDS…INTERNATIONAL
Model
Dancer
Tailor
Skater
TORSO
KICK RECORDS
SATIN STORM
BONGO MASTER
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to visit this page and read about our fundraiser.
Against all odds, despite what the doctor's said "6 weeks to live"after years of dealing with this debilitating form of dementia”Picks disease”, with prayer, my father's resilience and professional care, he became visibly and physically healthier in his care home…my dad graced us with his essence of life for a further three years.
One thing about a second generation Windrush Jamaican descendant are the stories you hear about some of the trailblazers that came before you. From my teens one such first Windrush elder to me (by 7 years) is folk lore legendary dance DJ/model Trevor Shakes. Trevor’s main and pivotal inspiration was a man who was regarded as being a prototype of Prince before Prince Rogers Nelson. His name is Travis Raynor Edwards who sadly, after a long battle, transitioned on the 23rd of July 2023.
Travis was a father to four children Kristian, Daisy May, Kai and Keanu, was the third of seven children born with Jamaican family heritage on the 11th of November 1953. He had two older. Siblings Errol and Adrienne, then after him came Norris, Darnell, Shawn and Michelle. He resided in Goodmayes Essex and Ilford was his stomping ground. Travis was very gifted and athletic and excelled in gymnastics from his early school years and was also a fantastic roller-skater.
Travis attended Mayfield Boys School in Goodmayes, Essex and grew up at a time when there were not many black families and was often tested by racist white guys who he had to stand up to and fight to gain his self-respect. He was also tested by his fellow black males through jealousy of his extrovert and extravagant dress sense and popularity with women. Travis was always way ahead of the curve even by introducing James Brown and Motown music to the deejays at clubs he frequented like DJ Gulliver at Lacy Lady’s, who didn’t have a clue about soul music. Naturally when Travis danced to it, they understood that they needed to incorporate that element more so as opposed to the standard rock music.
That also led to Travis directing a traffic of people to Lacy Lady’s which laid the foundations of it becoming such an iconic club. Travis’ early clubbing days, was where he established his dancing prowess influences from black and white Fred Astaire and Nicholas Brother flicks and. Late-night Kung-Fu movies. He frequented A Train(Mile End), Stratford Town Hall, Ilford Palais, Lacy Lady’s and Waterloo’s Birdsnest as well as all the west end London clubs like Ronnie Scott’s. In Frith Street and Crackers in Wardour Street,Soho. Travis danced professionally via an agency for various club and pub venues like the Circus Tavern in Purfleet Essex.
Here is Trevor Shakes’ account from issue 90 in 2021 of the impact of first seeing Travis at a nightclub dancing to The Detroit Emeralds ‘Feel The Need In Me.’
“One night we both went to Lacy Lady’s in Ilford and that was the first time I saw Travis Edwards. Man, I’m telling you this guy excited me. I couldn’t help but watch him dance. He was a handsome guy, well dressed using acrobatics in his repertoire and he was running things. I said to Carol that I wanted to be able to dance like that and that I wanted to start dancing from today. Travis was incredible, he had a white collarless shirt on with flared jeans and danced in a pair of clogs. Clogs you know! Travis’s dance thing started with shuffling which physically takes a lot out of you. Leon says he used to dance with Travis but I can’t imagine they were in the same league as Travis was dynamic, he would do somersaults and all different kinds of splits.”
The Edwards family were very talented, so much so, that the whole family loved to Paris and were offered a recording deal with Disques Ibach 59 Av. Marceau Paris in 1977 Travis was a huge sensation in all the clubs in Paris Elysee Matignon, castle’s Rue Princess and Club 78 (so if en did weight) on the Champs Elysee. One night at Club Prive, Keira Samba after Travis danced with a woman, she was so enamoured with him that she put a diamond necklace worth a fortune around his neck. Travis’s reputation was so prolific that all the best dancers in Paris came to see if they could put dance Travis and garner sow if the attention he received, he was that good. Travis was the star attraction act at Le Krypton Mountparnasse on New Years Eve 1969 where he danced in a black and white leopard patterned right leotard with silver, black and white. Stripped David Bowie Ziggy Stardust style makeup an, dancing on roller skates., of which there os footage on YouTube.
Trevor Shakes recalls when he and Leon Herbert went to Paris in the late 1970s and met up with Travis.
“Leon went to Paris on vacation and he invited me over. Whilst we were in Paris we met Travis and that was the first time I really hung around with him. Fitzroy, Travis owned Paris, they absolutely adored him, as soon as he walked in a club there was a bottle and free drinks on the table for him, he was treated like a film star and we just couldn’t believe all the attention. He was commanding. We were well and truly put in our place as he was in a completely different zone. Everywhere we went he was treated as a king. He had created a name for himself dancing and modelling and everybody loved him. This is late 70s, 1977-1978 at venues like Elysee Martinon, Club 69, La Palace, Castile and Club Prive. Travis was also dancing on skates and was so acrobatic. He was a handsome dude, no two ways about it. He had a great physique and incredible hair too. Leon and I had no chance to shine but we could hang with him, and we were just star struck witnessing all this adulation he was receiving. I swear to God it was no joke, he was that popular.”
Travis was with his bother Darnell modelled at the Paris Fashion week in 1978 and were the first to incorporate dancing whilst modelling clothes. Travis subsequently ended up working with Christine Pearce for the Milan Fashion shows and modelled high fashion clothing brands Adidas, Men’s Liberty and Lacoste. Travis was part of the Torso dance group and did many fashion shows modelling and dancing with his friend Trevor Shakes and Leon Herbert, travelling all over the world.
Around 1988 Travis invested in an Atari and started making music. Travis’ biggest achievement was his Satin Storm record label which released several titles between 1990 and 2009. The music was ambient house, breakbeat( jungle and hardcore and some titles like ‘Let’s Get Together/ Free Your Mind’ are sold on Discogs for an average price of £30. Travis was responsible for getting a record deal for an artist who covered Gloria Jones ‘Tainted Love’ which was a massive hit in America and went into the charts in the UK and the USA. Travis danced for the outfit Break The Limits when they performed PA’s. Travis also wore and produced various. Titles for various labels as Travis Edwards and his pseudonym ‘Storm.’
Travis was a prolific dancer, model, gymnast, tailor, roller-skater, percussionist, music producer and all-round entertainer, whose reputation precedes him before I actually met him during my five year residency at Twice As Nice between 1997-2003. I distinctly remember him banging the bongos in the UNG room in his silver space bodice cat suit and leopard coloured hair style and dark glasses. In between his bongo sets Travis would dance with his powerful athletic frame like a pro. Travis is the first dancer interviews. For Snowboy’s 2009 ‘From Jazz Funk & Fusion To Acid Jazz Book page 249 under ‘The Dancers’ section of the book. Travis certainly was an enigmatic and powerful force of nature and original bespoke trailblazer RIP.
Enormous thanks to Trevor Shakes and Darnell Edwards(Travis’s brother) for their valuable insight on Travis so I could write this homage to him.
Taken from The Soul Survivors Magazine issue 105 written by Fitzroy Facey
Des Parkes interview….
Dez-…I remember a slightly different dancer to us but he was bad. I could not talk about dancing without mentioning him; he was an entrepreneur in his own way and his name was Travis…
F- Ahh Travis (whom I heard a lot about and eventually worked with.)
Dez- Now Travis was Prince before Prince… trust me.. he was doing the freaky hair, the clothes, the make up, all of it. I branched off early for the rest of the guys I the early 70’s, hit the West. End & bumped into a friend of mine called Flash.
Taken from The Soul Survivors Magazine issue 11 written by Fitzroy Da Buzzboy
One night we both went to Lacy Lady’s in Ilford and that was the first time I saw Travis Edwards. Man I’m telling you this guy excited me. I couldn’t help but watch him dance. He was a handsome guy, well dressed with acrobatics in his repertoire and he was running things. I said to Carol that I wanted be able to dance like that and that I wanted to start dancing from today. Travis was incredible, he had a white collarless shirt on with flared jeans and danced in a pair of clogs. Clogs you know!.
Taken from The Soul Survivors Magazine issue 90 written by Fitzroy Facey
Throughout the years, many people in the creative industry gravitated towards my Dad and felt inspired to further their careers and my Dad opening opportunistic avenues for artists such Richard Martin, Kyanga Richard Bodkin Martin, Maurice Capillaire(MC MC), Excel records, Trevor Shakes and even inspired Goldie with his group Metalheads with my Dads track “Let's get together.” This was around the same time in 1993, that he won hardcore group in the year, beating Prodigy, at the KISS FM Billboard awards.
So please everyone join us in this TRAVISty into a celebration exTRAVaganza on September 24th 2023 at the funeral, wake and on to the renowned Sunday after party that Travis is known for. Throughout the day, will be leopard print theme, be it outift, accessories, hair. Go as little as you want or all out with the theme, even animal print. Even the nurses were in awe of him, he still had his enigmatic sparkle and strength even up until his last breath.
Dad was finally ready to leave this earth with a peaceful glow and twinkle at the early hours of 4:22am on Sunday 23rd July 2023, leaving behind a beautiful bright ray of sunshine to celebrate his departure to be free again and dance amongst the clouds watching over us. I know Nanny Mae, his beautiful wonderful mother…would have been waiting to comfort him, take his hand and guide him to a better place!! While raising a glass to all his achievements whilst reuniting again
His memory lives on through his music and all that he achieved. Through his final
years, Pops was unable to work due to his crippling disease and so I am reaching out to all who knew him, to help in creating an xTRAVanga celebration of his life, just like he would have wanted. I hope you can all rally round and help me to achieve and organise the farewell and celebration he deserves. A one a kind, a true legend, my beautiful Pops- Travis Edwards. May your legacies live on through all the people you touched and inspired throughout your life, until we meet again…
Hope you can all help, big or small, let’s make it a TRAVISty of a night with all the familiar faces and everyone who touched my life through my father too. Anyone that donates on the GoFundme will be invited to the Wake and After Party.
Travis "Turned On The Light" for many others & turning the negatives in the below in to positives that Travis's did during his life. So we dedicate this poem to Travis…
Yesterday I visited a friend of mine, who is blind. And because it was night, he did something that taught me a lesson.
Upon entering the house, he switched on the light.
And I asked him, "Why did you put on the light yet you can't see?"
He laughed for a long time, switched off the light, and went to the kitchen.
After a short while, he came out with a pot of tea and eggs, placed them perfectly well on the table, and switched on the light again.
What he said made me shed tears because he said to me,
I did not put on the light for my own sake or because I needed it, I did it for you because you needed it.
Then he asked me,
How many times have you switched off the light for other people and denied them an opportunity to see light just because you yourself do not need it ?"
I thought about that, and now I am asking you the same question ?
How many times have you put off your lights and denied others an opportunity to see the light while they are in darkness?
Why would you let your accounts grow to millions and even billions while your brother's child is going barefooted?
Why would you put clothes you don't wear in the bin while someone out there is almost going naked?
Why would food rot in your house while there is someone out there sleeping hungry?
Why will you see a business opportunity and hide it without sharing it with your friends when you know you won’t use it?
Why will you be in a position to help someone get a promotion or a new job and you keep it to yourself because the person is not from your family, tribe or religion?
Why will you defame your brother or sister just because you don't want someone to help them?
Each of the questions above is equivalent to "Switching
Off The Light”
These are the things we should be mindful of as human beings.
True religion is helping the needy and being there for those who do not have a voice.
Please Turn On The Lights You Switched Off!
Let's Switch On The Lights For Others !
Organizer
Kristian Edwards
Organizer
England