RIP Adrian (Fuse)

[MartyG]

Sad to hear, spoke to him often on the Discord (quite a few regulars on there most days) - RIP Fuse.

[fishbowlhead]

Well this was pretty gutting seeing this today, i didn't know Fuse irl, did plenty of purchases off him over the years, but he was one of the og members and you just take it for granted people will always be there, then their not.

My condolences to his wife, its awful going through something like this.

[QualityChimp]

RIP Fuse - Forum legend.

Firstly, apologies for not sorting a thread sooner, I'm away with the family visiting relatives.

I'm absolutely gutted because Adrian was one of the loveliest blokes I've met.

I'll try and condense it down, but basically Adrian has been having heart issues for quite some time, having various treatments and operations, including one last year where they fitted a sort of high-tech pacemaker that shocked his heart when it was out of rhythm.
At the end of January, he'd had a series of these shocks, enough to warrant the heart ward getting him in where he had another episode with the full defibrillation in, as he said "full dramatic "CLEAR" fashion."

He then stayed in hospital and although there were no major issues, he still was getting shocks and needing medication and they planned for a Cardiac Ablation operation, which is a massive 8 hour undertaking.

I called him the day before his operation just to chat, tell him I'm thinking about him and to let him know how we're all sending best wishes for the operation.
He was obviously concerned, but still his lovely self.

Sadly, the operation didn't go well and his heart stopped for half an hour and he had to be put on life support and it looked like he wasn't going to make it.
He gave me the number of his fiancée, Lisa, who has kept me updated.

Then miracle of miracles, he woke up again. Lisa sent a short video of him saying hi and making a joke, but he was obviously exhausted.
Lisa then sent me pictures on the 8th Feb of them getting married after getting a special license to do so. Big smiles on all their faces despite everything going on.

Then he had another operation and this was the biggest yet and took a team of 15 people to perform and was the second longest of its type ever carried out.

Although the operation was a success, they had to put him on life-support because of the extent of it.
Eventually the life support was causing blood clots, so they were going to have to take him off it and, in Lisa's words "then it's up to Adrian's poor dodgy heart to pick up the slack."

Sadly, this is when we started to hear that he hadn't made it.

Guys, I'm heartbroken, He was such a lovely bloke and loved chatted with him on a nearly daily basis.
We'd only met once at the same meetup as Bilal and Brad, but he was even lovelier in person.
We're still chatting in the WhatsApp group we set up for that one day, years later.

Don't let anyone tell you that online friends aren't real friends, because we'd message daily, have a laugh and talk about games, music and the usual stuff.
I already miss him and have been aching to tell him about my trip to Arcade Club, which we'd planned on doing together for years.
I wanted to tell him about scoring Black Sabbath tickets, hearing his jokes about what state they'll be in.
I want to tell him about what bands I'm seeing and hearing who he's seeing next, then Googling their names to see if they're a real thing or he's winding me up!
I wanted to hear about which books he'd bought, thumbed through and added to the "must-read" pile.
I'm gutted I won't be able to meet Lisa at a big party to celebrate their marriage and him recovering.

RIP Adrian "Fuse" Purser.
The forum and the world in general feels emptier without you.

[nakamura]

Adrian was a genuine icon. I don't remember many people with as much kindness as him, and that's not a slight on anyone else.

He never stopped supporting, he never uttered a word in anger and always made time for you.

I was really hoping to reconnect with him this year after the run of my own personal problems came to a close.

I'm not going to pretend we were best buds or anything, despite both being from Poole and having Software Box memories, but he's someone you just never forget.

My thoughts and feelings are with those closest to him. The world is a poorer place without him.

[Nu-Eclipse]

QualityChimp Reading all of that really, really hurts.

Words fail me.

[Neon Ignition]

Well.
This thread has blindsided me this morning. I immediately thought to myself "wha... wasn't he online a few days ago?" and sure enough a quick check revealed posts about the Virtual Boy, getting japanese store credit etc.

Another sad reminder of how unfair life is, it's a testament that so many have posted their memories and there's such positivity to them.

[jassi singh]

Absolutely wounded to hear this, found out only yesterday via Facebook from Big Sean.

First met Fuse at a meet at Big Sean's in Southampton. We just banged ridiculous amount of sets on 3rd Strike and nothing else through the night. Kept in touch, I bought whatever PS2 fighting collections he wanted to get rid of when they were going.

Was of the first people i knew who had an Astro City in his house years ago! Sent me on the path of getting one myself and looking at getting original cps2 boards.

He was a huge supporter of my Arcade SF2/3rd Strike tournaments at VSFighting in Birmingham the past few years. Helped fund a bigger prize pool for the players every year, super generous guy. Mentioned he would be looking to attend this year and meet up again...I'm super gutted to hear he has passed.

Thanks QualityChimp for the update on what happen. I wish his nearest and dearest the best during this difficult time.

I hope everyone here is doing well also, take care of yourselves. Have not been on the forum for years. It's been nice to read other's thoughts about Fuse. Everyone is right, super cool and friendly dude, he will be sorely missed.

RIP Adrian.

Jassi

[fishbowlhead]

Just to say if there’s a collection or whip round here for the widow I’m happy to put in, having gone through this 2 years ago now with my best mate and his widow the financial implications of someone dying is absolutely rubbish.

[Anpanman]

Great words everybody, very ****ty news to say the least. Brings everything into perspective.

Just when Adrian had been kicked in the teeth and face, along comes life and just for a laugh kicks him in the balls for good measure. He was going through so much crap in his life but still not giving up.

Heartfelt condolences to everyone who knew him along with of course his family.

If there is somewhere where we can donate I'll chip in too, if not I'll drop some to the British Heart Foundation.

[importaku]

WTF, my heart sank when i saw that thread title i was hoping it was some weird joke or something as i had no idea Fuse had health problems that's one of the downsides of online what you see online is only one tiny window into that persons life sometimes all you see is the forum posts and their actual life is mysterious. I only ever interacted online with Fuse sadly never had the chance to meet in person so i only ever saw his gaming side but i always enjoyed his wild & varied pickups in the imports thread it's not going to be the same on here without him posting. A lot of us hang around on here for many years each username is like a piece of forum furniture just hanging out you just assume they will always be around daily you get used to seeing them post, now there's a Fuse shaped hole and it won't feel the same at all. The same when any long time member is lost.

To the people close to him hope you all hang in there, the closer you are the harder it hits. Hope his other half & family pull through it but losing anyone is devastating

[Wools]

Heard this over the weekend on Discord, very sad to hear Adrian has died.

I always looked forward to Fuse's posts, he had brilliant taste in games and an even better personality to talk about them; From enthusing about imports, describing why some lesser games are deserving of praise to late night chats we had about life over all the years he's been on NTSC-UK, he was such a lovely and warm bloke. Although I didn't know just how poorly he was, hearing what he was going through and how he Married his Fiancé in the Hospital when his time was slipping away... Wow. Shows what a kind and loving Husband he was bound to be before it was cruelly taken from him, at such a young age.

As some of us lot have been on the Forum for over 20 years, you start to appreciate not only how much this little community means to you, but how much all of us mean to each other, too.

Big love to you Fuse and thanks for all the wonderful memories, you will be missed.

[Soundwave]

I genuinely don't know what to say
This is the first I've heard of this & it's just beyond belief

Unlike the majority of you I never had the pleasure of meeting Adrian in real life & only dealings were in the old trading days & chatting about his recent pick ups in the Import thread but from everything he was an absolute gent

I don't frequent here anywhere near like I used to but the first place I always went was the new import thread to see his new pick ups & I honestly think this place will not be the same without him here

He will be sorely missed & to those of you who knew him on a more personal level, I am so sorry for your loss

RIP to a true legend

Neil

[QualityChimp]

Just caught up with Lisa who seems just as lovely as Adrian and can see why they were drawn to each other.
She sent this message that she'd written after he died:
"I’m afraid it’s the news nobody wants to hear. Had a call from hospital 7.20am to come in asap. Adrian had what they call a VT storm and an unstable night and all best efforts were made to save him. There wasn’t anything more they could do. His mum and I were at his bedside as they turned off the machines and he floated off to the big arcade in the sky. 💔

Shared a romantic Valentine’s meal with my mother in law Friday night. She is staying with me for a few days and we are making eachother cups of tea!"

Just thought I'd share because it gave me some comfort to know he was surrounded by people who loved him when he passed away and that they're supporting each other.

[ezee ryder]

The worst news. First bumped into Adrian on here ages ago when it was NTSC and eventually met up several times in-person, including at his place in London. We even went to E3 together one year. The nicest guy, who just loved video games. RIP Adrian. You will be missed. ❤️

Sorry about the earlier post with a new account. Got access to my old account again. Feels like going back in time and I’m back in late 2000s/early 2010s again.

Adrian has been in my thoughts all day. Loved the dude. Passed my condolences onto his other half. An amazing woman. She mentioned she’d be in touch about a chance to raise a glass to Adrian and let me know about any official donation or fund.

[Lime01R]

Hi all,

New to the forum, but previously aware of it mostly via Adrian. I’ve known him IRL for about 22yrs now, we met via DDR forums and soon after in the usual London arcades, we house shared for 4yrs, went on numerous group holidays together. I helped him set up his projectors and screens and humped an arcade cabinet to his 7th floor flat. He was my annual partner in crime at the Ealing Beer Festival, he was a best man at my wedding, as I was to be for his later this year.

i don’t feel there’s is anything I can say about him that hasn’t already been said here, you all seem to know the mark of his character well and I’ve had to (failingly so) choke back the tears reading all your comments. I spent yesterday with Lisa and Adrian’s mum, reminiscing about all who he was to us. It’s lovely to see others being able to do the same.

Thank you all for being a fond part of his life.

Andy.