SPEED KING, one of HRF Administrators

Good day everyone, or as “Speed King” aka Brian Hanson would say, “Greetings and Salutations!”
Sadly, I am writing this to let everyone know that Brian passed away in May of this year. I met him 40 years ago (fall of 1982).
When I think of Brian, one of the first bands that come to mind is Pink Floyd, then Zeppelin, then after that Judas Priest. I remember we were watching an episode of M*A*S*H once and one of the characters used the term “Oh, Judas Priest” and we looked at each other and laughed!
We shared some musical interests but there were some things I liked that he didn’t care for, etc. That is how it usually goes! I asked him once if he liked Styx as we grew up near their hometown of Chicago, and he said he liked rockin’ tunes like “Renegade” but didn’t care for wimpy ones like “Babe”! Ha ha!
Six years ago I had also lost a friend tragically around Christmas and Brian was one of the first friends I called to talk about it. My friend and I had spent Thanksgiving together so while I had the turkey cooking before I left for his house, I was listening to Pink Floyd. Floyd’s album “The Wall” and Zeppelin’s “In through the Out Door” both debuted in the fall of 1979. I did not know Brian yet but I can imagine we were probably listening to those on the radio at the same time!
I wanted to do a tribute so would anyone who had the opportunity to chat with “Speed King”, please submit a song as a tribute to his love of rock music.
I also recall attending a few BOC (Blue Oyster Cult) concerts in the last decade and I would always text him a set list of the songs they performed.

I got to know Brian fairly well the past years via the internet. He was my partner in putting this forum together. We have chatted many many times about cars, especially his major love: His S10 Pickup truck that he restored. More recently we talked about his new caddy that he bought back in March which he named "Sheila" and the caddy he had purchased a few years back for his wife, which he laughed that its' color is Deep Purple. He was so excited when he got that new caddy. He said, "It is the nicest car I have ever bought myself" He even shared pictures of his cars with me.

We would talk a lot about music. Of course, I never was able to get him to go down the heavy metal rabbit hole with me. However, he knew what he liked, and he knew the bands he listened to very well. He had a multitude of music knowledge locked up in his mind. He use to talk constantly about Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, and Pink Floyd. Those seemed to be his favorites.

I had the pleasure of hearing some of Brian's guitar work. He shared a bunch of links with me to music he had created. He had gotten a computer music set up so he could be the entire band. He sent me all kinds of musical stuff asking my opinion. He even created a couple songs that were pretty heavy just to see what I thought of his "mad skills". He was very talented.

Brian was also a gifted artist. His drawings were very life-like. He shared a few pictures with me that he had drawn of his dogs. They were really good drawings.

My last conversation with Brian was early May of this year. He talked about how exhausted he was with his job and having Covid. He told me he was going on a trip with his brother. He was really looking forward to the trip. Sadly, he lost his life on that trip!!!

I miss his quips. He always had a joke for everything and lots of stories about his wild teenage days. He was such fun to chat with.

I miss my friend.

Rest in Peace!!

As I remember, Brian liked Zappa too! Had him on cassette! (CD's were still a thing of the future).

Oh man what tragic news. He was one helluva good guy. I'll miss you my friend.

I didn't know Speed King well, but from the few times I interacted with him on here, he seemed like a good dude. I feel for his family and for you all, his friends.

I know he liked classic rock like the aforementioned bands listed. I'll post a stripped down version of a song from a newer band I like that plays in a classic rock style, Blues Pills. You'll have to click the link below and watch the video on YouTube - they've disabled direct/embedded playback on other sites.

Farewell and godspeed, sir.

Blues Pills - Little Sun (Lindbacka Session)

Brian and I shared a love for Classic cars. That's mostly what we talked about. I posted a pic of a 1974 Aussie Ford Falcon once and he told me he thought he was the only one who knew about them. That one post cemented our friendship. He shared a bunch of pics about his beloved S-10. He was so proud of that truck and well he should. It was a piece of art. Crank up the 8 track Brian and toss in some Blue Oyster Cult.

Magic let me in on this tragic sad news . I didn't know SK personally, but I know he was quite active on a few rock forums on the Net.
RIP man - I am always deeply touched when a man of music passes

Within the last few days I've been watching videos on YouTube about Finland and Russia, and my search brought me to the Khanty tribe which I've read about in the past. And I ran across a video of a band who sings in Khanty but the songs are like metal! Wonder if ol' Speed King (Brian) woulda liked this!

Good evening everyone, today marks a year since Speed King (Brian) passed away. He was in a canoeing accident and fell out of the canoe on a rough river and unfortunately he wasn't wearing a life vest. The accident happened May 16 but he was officially pronounced deceased on May 18. I didn't find out about this until August (2022). I was listening to an old music video of the Midnight Special and the band Argent performed "Hold your head up" and I recall Brian liking that song!

Thanx for reminding us of a great person .....RIP Speed King (Brian)

Hello everyone how was your fourth? I watched our neighbors let off the "safe and sane" fireworks that are purchased at neighborhood stands. A few illegal ones were let off around the area, of course. Can't seem to get away from that! I hear from Brian's (Speed King) older brother frequently. We had met many years ago before I left Illinois and since Brian's passing we've become pen pals. Alan misses Brian alot too. They didn't have the same musical taste though! But anyway... I never really asked Brian if he liked Queen. I knew only what was played on the radio. Never owned any of their albums, just the 45 of "We will Rock you/We are the Champions". I ran across a video on YouTube of a concert they played in 1975 and most of the songs come from their album Queen II, and I was unfamiliar with all of them. Always fun to learn new things even if they've been around for awhile! LOL!

Hi there !! This place has become isolated , but I check in sometimes to see if someone is posting. I'm Aussie so we don't celebrate the 4th, but I have many American pals and colleagues so they tell me interesting or funny stories of Independence Day ....,we have something similar in OZ and the UK with fireworks called Cracker Night, but it doesn't celebrate anything special !
I still cannot fathom that SK is not with us anymore...I've never had this type of feeling for a member of a msg board or music forum I'm on - and I'm on plenty I assure you - Speed King is like a person I've always known. RIP SK

Yeah, they were setting fireworks off around here beginning several days before the 4th and continuing for several days after, as they do every year.

Speaking of learning new musical things that have been around for a while, although this obviously isn't rock or metal related, I just learned the other day that Marky Mark, from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, who of course did the hit song Good Vibrations that I have fond memories of hearing as a kid, is Mark Wahlberg. Mark was also in his brother Donnie's boy band, New Kids on the Block, for maybe 5 minutes.

I don't follow celebrities like that, had never knowingly listened to them, and have only maybe seen Mark in part of one movie that I couldn't tell you the name of, so I never would have known or guessed.

Only just seen this. May he RIP and hope his family got through this tough time.

Hello everyone, today (5/16) marks two years since Speed King (Brian Hanson) passed away. His brother had told me that it happened around 1:30 pm central time. Going to have a moment of silence to remember him.

Time waits for no man

Sorry, wrong thread