He toured with megastars such as Elton John, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Queen, Sting, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Kylie Minogue, but Henry Crallan was never far from the love of his family.

The well loved Brighton-man died at his home aged 65 after he lost a year-long battle with cancer after doctors discovered a melanoma.

The family he leaves behind have remembered him as a man who “leaves a legacy of fun and joy for so many people”.

His brother John said: “There is a very big hole in my life, which I do not expect to disappear.”

Mr Crallan, from Crescent Place, worked as a production and stage manager for numerous superstar acts and also founded his own international recording studio network Miloco.

In 1984 Mr Crallan founded Milo Music, named after the character Milo Minderbinder from Catch-22, with Queen bassist John Deacon. He was working as tour manager for Queen at the time.

The pair set up a small studio in London’s Hoxton Square.

The company continued to grow and eventually became Miloco, which went on to work with artists such as Florence and the Machine, Adele, Madness and Oasis.

Nick Young, managing director of Miloco, said: “Henry was a great man and was always very kind to people.”

Mr Young said: “Like Milo – Henry liked to wheel and deal and solve problems. There were many times when I saw Henry take control of situations that without his input, would have taken much longer to solve or could have ended in disaster.”

He added: “On my fifth day of working at Miloco, Henry almost sacked me for playing saxophone on one of M-People’s records.

“It was a definite no no for an assistant, but luckily for me the band stood by me and said they had asked me to and fortunately for the public in general, they didn’t use the saxophone part.”

As he worked with Miloco Mr Crallan was also touring in his capacity as a production manager – building stages for some of the biggest artists in the world.

One of Henry’s close friends and former touring assistant Marife Caicedo said: “Although I only worked twice with Henry, I know he is irreplaceable to the rock and roll touring community.

“He was my boss first and almost immediately afterwards became my lifelong friend and friend to many of my friends back home.

“He was unique, extraordinary, insightful and fun, fun, fun. I am so grateful and proud to be able to call him my dear friend. I loved him deeply and will miss him greatly.”

After his cancer diagnosis in 2014 he pressed onwards, adhering to a strict diet and therapeutic protocol, taking up competitive table tennis.

Mr Crallan also worked with Wings, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Guns ‘n’ Roses, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, U2, Rod Stewart and others.

Mr Crallan married and was a step-father to his wife’s children but his step-daughter Kate Bronte-Stewart recalls he “hated the term stepdad as he thought it sounded evil”.

Instead they used the French version “Beau-pere”.

She said in his final months he “never succumbed to misery” and “there was no passive acceptance of his lot”.

Mr Crallan’s wife Mary-Jane Reyner said: “Every one of us has been made better for knowing him” and added he was “decent, loyal and an extremely loving father and husband”.

She said: “My first date with Henry was a dinner at his house in Clapham. I arrived at his door wearing a new dress bought for the occasion.

“Looking and feeling good, I rang his doorbell. The door was flung open and I was instantly soaked from head to toe by my new beau wielding a very impressive pump action water pistol.

“He turned heel and fled into the safety of his castle. I knew from that moment he was the man for me.”

His step son Jamie Bronte-Stewart remembered him as a man who was “class” as “he was entirely comfortable in himself”.

He said there were three men he trusted with his life but that list “has now shortened to two”.

He said: “I have lost a best mate, a father, a partner-in-crime, a man I trusted with my life and a mentor. I hope I can live in his honour and make him proud, I also hope he can rest easy knowing that I will look after Kate and Mum in his absence.

"With Henry I shared twenty years, five family homes, 500 football games and countless laughs, the statistics will unfortunately have to end there but will live on till my last breath in my every memory.”

An honour to have known him

Opinion by Keith Bradley, Elton’s tour director

It was an honour to have known Henry, he was one of the nicest people I had the good fortune to meet in my life and I will miss him every day he is not here among us.

Henry's dedication and professionalism with all that he involved himself with, including the many Elton John tours, was beyond anything anyone could ask for and because of this I knew we were always in the best hands.

He was a gentleman in every sense of the word, a truly good soul and he touched the lives of everyone who met and worked with him on the road.

My one regret is that I didn’t have the chance to say thank you to Henry for everything, most especially for being a wonderful friend. Henry, you were, you are, and you always will be, the best!

Our wonderful memories of you will linger long after our footprints upon this earth are gone.

I wish you a sky full of the brightest stars to light the seas for you on your way, sail home safe dear Henry. 

  • Keith Bradley is Elton John’s tour director who worked closely with Henry Crallan, he sent the tribute from the superstar's multi-night residency in Las Vegas.