DJ Mark ‘Daba’ Davis is raising money for The Alzheimer’s Society
09:33, 23 Jan 2026Updated 05:49, 25 Jan 2026
Simon Hubbard died, aged 49, from a rare form of dementia.
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A DJ is staging a fund-raising event for The Alzheimer’s Society after his best friend tragically died from a rare form of dementia. Simon Hubbard had just turned 40 when he was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in 2015.
The popular dad-of-two had to leave the family home and move into a care home later that year. He passed away aged 49 in 2023 at NG Healthcare, in Trentham, with his devoted wife Lisa, mum Margaret Hubbard, and sister Sara Hubbard by his side.
Now one of Simon’s best friends, DJ Mark ‘Daba’ Davis, is staging a fund-raising event at The Jug, Newcastle, on Saturday, January 31 with all proceeds benefiting The Alzheimer’s Society. His efforts have been welcomed by Lisa.
The 46-year-old teacher said the fund-raiser will allow important research into the disease to continue.
Lisa, of Porthill, said: “Simon was diagnosed with dementia in 2015. He had just turned 40. No members of his family had dementia. That is the hardest thing, we do not know why. I do not think we will ever know.
“Simon was lovely. He was such a gentle giant. Everyone who knew him loved him. He was kind, thoughtful, a lovely man who I loved dearly.
“Towards the end he was just such a shell of himself. He was bed-bound, he could not speak, he could not feed himself. It was horrific watching him suffer. His mum, Margaret, his sister, Sara, and myself were by his side.
“The families suffer the most. It is really hard for the families who are caring for them. There is research that goes into it. Alzheimer’s Research does a lot of research into it.
“The thing is with FTD, the type he had, it was very rare. He was so young. He was misdiagnosed with manic depression for quite a few years. It was just devastating getting the diagnosis. His first signs were the fact he would see people and forget who they were. He started behaving a lot differently.
“A lot was just put down to the fact he was depressed. He was struggling with language and understanding what people were saying. He was not behaving in the way he normally behaved.
“He used to go to Bradwell Hospital and spent a bit of time in the Harplands as they thought it was mental health. They thought he had manic depression. It was quite a few years of fighting to get the right answers.
“After a few years on antidepressants he wasn’t getting better. It was not until he had his MRI scan they said, ‘We have seen a change in his frontal temporal lobes’. We got the official diagnosis in 2015.
“It got to the point, unfortunately, it was difficult for him to be in the house. He wasn’t safe. We had to make the really difficult decision of him leaving. He was diagnosed in the March. Later on that year he had to go into the care home. It was two or three years before his diagnosis that the behavioural changes started to occur.
“It is fantastic what Mark is doing. Mark was one of Simon’s best friends. They were close and did a lot together. They were there for each other. It is amazing what he is doing for charity. It is wonderful. It allows the research to continue. I would not want any other family to go through what we have been through. I only met two other families who have experienced what Simon had. It is really rare. He was so young.”
Mark, aged 54, of Wolstanton, has raised more than £21,000 from nine previous events for charities, including The Alzheimer’s Society, Marie Curie, the Dougie Mac, Kidney Care, British Red Cross, and The Huntington’s Disease Association.
Mark ‘Daba’ Davis is staging a fund-raising event at The Jug, Newcastle, to raise funds for The Alzheimer’s Society after his close friend, Simon Hubbard, died from a rare form of dementia.(Image: Submitted picture.)
Mark said: “I first became very good friends with Simon, a perfect gentleman, in the mid 1990s, when my love of house music was beginning to be superseded by my first passion as a child, football, specifically the England national team. Over the years we spent a small fortune watching England home and away. The three most notable events were in Italy in 1997 when we qualified for the World Cup; France in 1998 where we spent nearly two-and-a-half weeks camping and watching several games; and probably the best was Munich in 2001 when we thrashed Germany 5-1. We also watched Stoke City many times both home and away over the years having some great times together and with other close friends.”
Mark said Simon and Lisa were outstanding friends to him and his ex-partner Claire Ash.
Mark added: “I simply could not wish for better caring, understanding and loving friends. Seeing one of my closest and dearest friends suffering for several years with a rare form of dementia and then having to end up in a nursing home was completely heart-breaking and so totally unfair. This was compounded by the fact he was only aged 49 when he tragically passed away in October 2023.
“I have never heard one person ever say a bad word about Si in all of the years I was lucky enough to call him one of my best friends. That alone speaks volumes of the man.
“One of his all-time favourite dance records was Primal Scream’s Loaded. I have played this at a couple of my previous charity events and will be doing so again later this month.”
The ‘Classic Memories’ event features a talented lineup of DJs playing house music in the spirit of Hacienda, Manchester, and Shelleys, Longton. DJing will be Victor Simonelli from New York, North Staffordshire legend Kelvin Andrews, with support from Mark ‘Daba’ Davis, Dave Rogers, Jamie Barber from Leeds and Alex Malam from York. It runs from 7pm to 2am with last admission at 11.45pm. Tickets are available via making a donation of £10 via Skiddle. For tickets, click here.
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