GOLDIE HARVEY IS DEAD!!

[caption id="attachment_33444" align="aligncenter" width="896"] Goldie Harvey[/caption]

Goldie harvey is dead!! This shocking news just reaching Naijagal is

Goldie Harvey is dead

!!!

We are deeply saddenly and send our condolences to the family of the stunning beauty Goldie Harvey. It is so hard to believe that Goldie Harvey is dead? The sad news was confirmed on her official face book page with over 82000 fans. Apparentely when the news came through that Goldie Harvey is dead, we could not believe it. She died at Reddington Hospital in Lagos one of the best hospitals in the country. We are yet to ascertain the cause of her death but the world will definitely miss her.

We pay tribute to the superstar singer gone too soon with a quote from her website. Cannot still believe that Goldie Harvey is dead!!

Indeed, in the case of talent and passion, the apple does not fall too far away from the tree. Goldie was born In the early 80s to very educated and successful parents – her mum, late Mrs. Olabisi Betty from the illustrious Olaiya family in Ijebu, Ogun State was a former managing director in a bank, while her dad, a native of Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State, also retired as a director in a new generation bank. He is now into full time clerical works in Lagos. The first of four kids, Goldie’s education began at the Green Springs Montessori Primary School and then St. John's College, Palm Grove, Lagos where Christian Religious Knowledge, she said, was her favourite subject because she didn’t have to study too hard to pass it. In fact, by the age of 10, she already knew so many bible verses that belied her age.

 

 

She recalled, “My childhood was very interesting but regimented. My Dad was a leader in church and very active too while my mum used to lead the choir. So, as their first child, I took very active roles in all church activities – drama, choir, bible classes and so on. Church was the only social life we had. On Mondays, we went for bible classes; Wednesdays were for prayer meetings and then one Friday in a month, we went for vigil. I never had toys or friends because my father thought they would lead me astray." Thus, her mum was her closest friend. However, the bond that held mother and daughter together snapped irretrievably in 1994.

LOSING HER MUM

Goldie described her mum as a woman of high intellectual and moral values. “She was the first to have a scholarship in her family. She was an avid reader and had a lot of certificates and degrees.” Every night, when every other person had gone to bed, Goldie and her mum would stay up chit-chatting and watching television. She was the only friend Goldie had. But she died too soon after a long-drawn battle with cancer, leaving behind four kids. “It was a traumatic experience for me especially because it was like losing my only friend and confidant. I cried bitterly and even up till now, over a decade later, the pain of her demise has not left me.” Goldie is however consoled that she now has another mum in her step-mother who she describes as God-sent.

FORAY INTO MUSIC

A prodigious kid with a strong flair for the arts and everything creative, Goldie recalled drawing sketches of anything that caught her fancy but whenever her dad saw her drawing, he would tear it, asking rather erroneously how many people have achieved outstanding success in arts. This however did not deter the blithely ambitious young lady from wanting to give vent to her dreams because like the cliché goes, music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent. Goldie had found music through the prism of divas like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton. And even at that age, she was already learning the style and nuances of pop, even emulating Braxton’s style of keeping her side burns oiled.

At that time too, it had become pretty obvious that Goldie was an embryonic diva. “I’d been flirting with music all my life. I don’t remember exactly how old but I was incredibly young when I knew that I’d go into some form of entertainment. Everybody who knew me back then knew that I could sing because I was always singing in school or church; I’ve always had that artistic flair.” So, when she got to the UK where she had been admitted to study Business Management at the University of Sunderland, she and a couple of friends formed an informal group which performed for friends and family. The group even did a couple of demos which never really made it out.

GOING PROFESSIONAL

Interestingly, Goldie’s return to Nigeria in the mid-2000s did not quite signal an immediate take-off for her career. Rather, she concentrated on building her date-reminder services business. In the course of this, she needed to do a jingle and was introduced to Mani of Cool FM who bowled her over with his production aplomb. They talked about music and what they’d like to achieve. The young lady evinced unadulterated passion and determination which prompted Mani to introduce her to industry players. Then, she met renowned producer, OJB Jezreel who would produce her first single, Komole. This was followed by three other singles Spin Me, Nothing has Changed, and Shift, which all formed part of her compilation CD. Since then, there has been no stopping her. Through the turbulence, drudgery and seeming imperviousness of the music industry, Goldie held her own, talent for talent, and creativity for creativity. After a tentative management deal in 2009, Goldie was signed on to Nigeria’s foremost music label, Kennis Music in 2010.

A few months later, she released her debut album, Gold, which given Nigerians’ apathy towards pop music, has been a critical success. The album exudes the audacity and flamboyance of Goldie, and has spewed a couple of provocative, smart, and infectious videos; You Know It, JawoJawo and DTMB (Don’t Touch My Body) The 3 songs are now certified street anthems with increasing followership. “For me, the clothing, the props, and the creative direction must be properly coordinated because I want my fans to have very specific imagery in their head when they're listening to the music and watching the accompanying video.” Continuing, she says, “Entertainment as a whole has gone visual. The best way to sell yourself and your music is to make a video… I will say for the record though, that I love shooting music videos, that’s one of the highlights of being in my profession; I like bringing my fantasies to life. A good music video is just one of the many ways to do this.” Little wonder, the video for ‘You Know it’ won the best female video at the 2010 SoundCity Music Video Awards and also picked the award for best use of costume at the Nigerian Music Video Awards; while DTMB picked up best Afro Pop video at the 2011 Nmva’s.

So full of life how can it be? Goldie Harvey is dead?? Unbelievably sad. Please don't say Goldie Harvey is dead, Lord let it not be true.