Haydain Neale

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Haydain Neale

| image = Haydainneale.jpg

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1970|09|03}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|11|22|1970|09|03}}

| death_place =Toronto, Ontario

| origin = Hamilton, Ontario

| instrument =

| genre = Soul, R&B

| occupation = Singer-songwriter

| years_active = 1990–2009

| associated_acts = jacksoul

}}

Haydain Neale (September 3, 1970 – November 22, 2009) was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario.{{Cite web|title=Haydain Neale – TMA 149|url=https://tma149.ca/portfolio-item/haydain-neale/|access-date=2021-02-02|language=en-CA}} He was best known as the lead singer of Juno Award-winning band jacksoul.{{Cite web|title=Anthem Entertainment {{!}} Haydain Neale - Anthem Entertainment Group|url=https://www.anthementertainment.com/creator/haydain-neale/|access-date=2021-02-02|website=www.anthementertainment.com}}{{Cite web|title=jacksoul Official Site|url=https://www.jacksoul.com/bio.html|access-date=2021-02-02|website=www.jacksoul.com}} Neale also served on the faculty of the Humber College Summer Songwriting Workshop and as president of the Songwriters Association of Canada.

He starred in the commissioned jazz opera Québécité by George Elliot Clarke, which debuted at the Guelph Jazz Festival in 2003.{{Cite web|title=Review - Québécité - Guelph Jazz Festival - Christopher Hoile|url=http://www.stage-door.com/Theatre/2003/Entries/2003/9/6_Quebecite.html|access-date=2021-02-20|website=www.stage-door.com}}{{Cite web|title=History & Vision|url=https://guelphjazzfestival.com/2018/history/|access-date=2021-02-20|website=2018 Guelph Jazz Festival|language=en-CA}} Neale played Ovide Rimbaud, a Haitian-Québécois architect.{{Cite journal|last=McLeod|first=Katherine|date=2009|title=Oui, Let's Scat": Listening to Multi-Vocality in George Elliott Clarke's Jazz Opera Québécité.|url=|journal=Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature|volume=42|issue=1|pages=133–150|via=Proquest}}

Traffic accident

Neale was involved in a traffic accident on Kennedy Road in Toronto on August 3, 2007, and was sent to hospital, when a Honda Civic collided with his Vespa scooter.[https://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/247561 "Jacksoul singer in coma"]. Toronto Star, August 18, 2007.{{Cite web|date=2007-09-10|title=Charges laid in Jacksoul singer's crash|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/charges-laid-in-jacksoul-singer-s-crash-1.255839|access-date=2021-02-02|website=CTVNews|language=en}} He was shortly thereafter reported to be in critical condition. On August 18, 2007, it was reported that Neale had been in a coma since the accident occurred. The 20-year-old driver of the car was charged with making an unsafe turn and appeared in court on October 25. On October 1, jacksoul's official webpage announced that Neale was recovering and remained in hospital. Another posting on January 8, 2008 confirmed that his condition had continued to improve.{{Cite web|date=2008-01-12|title=jacksoul official site|url=https://www.jacksoul.com/|access-date=2021-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112003845/https://www.jacksoul.com/|archive-date=January 12, 2008}}Patrick, Ryan. [http://exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=139&csid2=798&fid1=42679 Haydain Neale's Lonesome Highway] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118111336/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=139&csid2=798&fid1=42679 |date=January 18, 2010 }}. Exclaim!, December 2009.

Death

On October 26, 2009, Jacksoul's official website announced that the group would be releasing their first album in over three years. The album, SOULmate, was scheduled to be released on December 1, 2009. It contains 10 new songs written before Neale's accident. The first single, "Lonesome Highway", was made available on November 3, 2009.

On the morning of November 22, 2009, aged 39, Haydain Neale, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.{{Cite web|title=Jacksoul's Haydain Neale Dies of Cancer|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/jacksouls_haydain_neale_dies_of_cancer|access-date=2021-02-02|website=exclaim.ca|language=en-ca}} He had been diagnosed seven months earlier.{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/remembering/obituary.aspx?n=haydain-neale&pid=136387863|title=Haydain Neale's Obituary on Remembering|website=Remembering|date=November 5, 2010 |accessdate=November 30, 2017}} In a released statement, Neale's wife Michaela said: "Through all these challenges, Haydain's sense of humour and love of music were ever-present. He constantly brightened the room with his singing and his smile. His joyful presence and beautiful voice will be missed by us all." All profits from SOULmate were directed to the Haydain Neale Family Trust.{{Cite news|title=Jacksoul lead singer dies {{!}} CBC News|language=en-US|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/jacksoul-lead-singer-dies-1.816154|access-date=2021-02-12}}