Fab 5’s first band leader, Conroy Cooper, passes

Conroy Cooper, the first leader for the legendary Fab 5 band, has passed. Conroy, who was the older brother of Asley ’Grub’ Cooper, the band’s drummer, was found dead at his home in Kingston on Friday evening.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Grub Cooper said he didn’t know if his 74-year-old brother had been suffering from any particular illness. “He was very secretive, so I can’t comment on that,” he said.

Conroy, a father of two, lived alone, and, according to Grub, he was dropped off at home last Tuesday night and had not been seen since. “His landlady said she heard him playing the keyboard shortly after, and then it went silent, but that in itself wasn’t unusual. Anyway, Conroy was a member of a lodge, and they called her some time on Friday to say that nobody had heard from him, so she called me as the next of kin,” Grub explained.

The landlady also said that there was a foul smell coming from his room. The police were subsequently called, and Conroy’s decomposing body was found inside.

“I went and identified the body. We don’t know when or how he died, but hopefully the autopsy will provide some answers,” Grub Cooper stated.

A multi-instrumentalist, Conroy Cooper, who was married three times, was described by his brother as “the real genius”.

“People call me the genius, but the reality is that Conroy was the really brilliant one. He won a scholarship to the then Jamaica School of Music, and he did well,” he said.

The last time the two saw each other was at Grub’s 70th birthday party last December.