George Melly
Encyclopedia
Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English
jazz
and blues
singer, critic
, writer and lecturer
. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer
and lectured on art history
, with an emphasis on surrealism
.
and was educated at Stowe school
, where he discovered his interest in modern art
, jazz
and blues
, and started coming to terms with his sexuality.
by a particular experience he had during his teenage years. A frequent visitor to Liverpool's Sefton Park
near his home, he often entered its tropical Palm House and there chatted to wounded soldiers from a nearby military hospital. It was the incongruity of this sight, men smoking among the exotic plants, dressed in their hospital uniforms and usually deficient a limb, that he felt he later recognised in the work of the Surrealists.
He joined the Royal Navy
at the end of the Second World War
because, as he quipped to the recruiting officer, the uniforms were 'so much nicer'. As he related in his autobiography, Rum, Bum and Concertina, he was crestfallen to discover that he would not be sent to a ship and was thus denied the "bell-bottom" uniform he desired. Instead he received desk duty and wore the other Navy uniform, described as "the dreaded fore-and-aft". Later, however, he did see ship duty. He never saw active combat, but was almost court-martialled for distributing anarchist
literature.
Surrealist gallery, working with E. L. T. Mesens and eventually drifted into the world of jazz, finding work with Mick Mulligan
's Magnolia Jazz Band. This was a time (1948 onwards) when New Orleans and "New Orleans Revival" style jazz were very popular in Britain. In January 1963, the British
music magazine NME
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace
. The event included Alex Welsh
, Diz Disley
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
, Kenny Ball
, Ken Colyer
, Monty Sunshine
, Bob Wallis
, Bruce Turner
, Mick Mulligan
and Melly.
He retired from jazz in the early 1960s when he became a film critic for The Observer
and a writer on the Daily Mail
s satirical newspaper strip Flook
, illustrated by Trog
. He was also scriptwriter on the 1967 satirical film
Smashing Time
. This period of his life is described in Owning Up.
He returned to jazz in the early 1970s with John Chilton
's Feetwarmers, a partnership that ended only in 2003. He later sang with Digby Fairweather's band. He released three albums in the 1970s including Nuts in 1972 and Son of Nuts the next year. He wrote a light column, Mellymobile, in Punch
magazine describing their tours.
He was an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
and a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
. George Melly was President of the BHA 1972-4, and was also an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Association. He was also a member of the Max Miller Appreciation Society and on 1 May 2005 joined Roy Hudd
, Sir Norman Wisdom
and others in unveiling a statue of Miller in Brighton.
His singing style, particularly for the blues, was strongly influenced by his idol, Bessie Smith
. While many British musicians of the time treated jazz and blues with almost religious solemnity, Melly rejoiced in their more bawdy side, and this was reflected in his choice of songs and exuberant stage performances. He recorded a track called "Old Codger" with The Stranglers
in 1978 specially written for him by the band.
Melly moved from strictly homosexual relationships in his teens and twenties to largely heterosexual relationships from his thirties onwards. He married twice and had a child from each marriage, though his first child Pandora was not known to be his until she was much older. He married his second wife, Diana Moynihan (née Dawson), in 1963. She brought with her two children (Candy and Patrick) from two previous marriages, though Patrick later died from heroin overdose in his twenties. Their own son, Tom, was born two days after the wedding. Diana published an autobiography in 2005 of their life and (open) marriage
together, which is included in the bibliography. The two participated in a televised celebrity couples quiz in the 1970s. Asked separately what made them decide to marry, Diana announced "I was pregnant!" and George, in his turn, merely said, "The less said about that, the better."
, between 1971 and 1999. This was somewhere Melly could escape the jazz world and indulge his love of fishing on the River Usk
. However, jazz followed him to Wales and this led to a series of celebrated performances in the area and in the South Wales Valleys.
In 1984 the Brecon Jazz Festival
was conceived by a group of jazz enthusiasts who gained widespread support from the local community. George Melly was the first musician to be contracted for the opening festival and remained a supporter until his death. He was a factor in the festival's success and served as its President in 1991.
As well as being the President of the Contemporary Arts Society For Wales, Melly was a contemporary art collector. His passion for surrealist art continued throughout his life and he lectured and wrote extensively on the subject.
His passion for fly-fishing never dwindled and in later life he sold several important paintings (by Magritte and Picasso) to enable him to buy a mile of the River Usk
. In 2000 he published Hooked! a book on fly-fishing.
until his death, despite worsening health problems such as vascular dementia
, incipient emphysema
and lung cancer
. His encouragement and support to Gallery owner Michael Budd led to a posthumous exhibition for the modern abstract artist François Lanzi
.
In addition to age-related health problems, Melly suffered from environmental hearing loss because of long-term exposure to on-stage sound systems
, and his hearing in both ears became increasingly poor. Despite these problems, however, Melly would often joke that he found some parts of his ailing health to be enjoyable. He often equated his dementia to a quite amusing LSD trip, and took a lot of pleasure from his deafness, which he said made many boring conversations more interesting.
On Sunday 10 June 2007, Melly made an appearance, announced as his last ever performance, at the 100 Club
in London. This was on the occasion of a fund-raising event to benefit the charity supporting his carers.
He died at his London home of lung cancer
and emphysema
(which he had for the last two years of his life) aged 80 on 5 July 2007.
On 17 February 2008 BBC Two
broadcast George Melly's Last Stand (produced by Walker George Films
), an intimate portrayal of Melly's last months.
His sister Andrée Melly
is an actress, living in Ibiza with her husband, Oscar Quitak
. His widow, Diana Melly, is an author. In the Channel 4
documentary Stoned in Suburbia Melly compared a joint of cannabis to a fine port after dinner, and said "it should be passed round to the right, you swines."
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, writer and lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and lectured on art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, with an emphasis on surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
Early life and career
He was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and was educated at Stowe school
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
, where he discovered his interest in modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and started coming to terms with his sexuality.
Interest in surrealist art
Melly once stated that he may have been drawn to surrealismSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
by a particular experience he had during his teenage years. A frequent visitor to Liverpool's Sefton Park
Sefton Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park...
near his home, he often entered its tropical Palm House and there chatted to wounded soldiers from a nearby military hospital. It was the incongruity of this sight, men smoking among the exotic plants, dressed in their hospital uniforms and usually deficient a limb, that he felt he later recognised in the work of the Surrealists.
He joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
at the end of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because, as he quipped to the recruiting officer, the uniforms were 'so much nicer'. As he related in his autobiography, Rum, Bum and Concertina, he was crestfallen to discover that he would not be sent to a ship and was thus denied the "bell-bottom" uniform he desired. Instead he received desk duty and wore the other Navy uniform, described as "the dreaded fore-and-aft". Later, however, he did see ship duty. He never saw active combat, but was almost court-martialled for distributing anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
literature.
Post-war life and career
After the war, Melly found work in a LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Surrealist gallery, working with E. L. T. Mesens and eventually drifted into the world of jazz, finding work with Mick Mulligan
Mick Mulligan
Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene....
's Magnolia Jazz Band. This was a time (1948 onwards) when New Orleans and "New Orleans Revival" style jazz were very popular in Britain. In January 1963, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. The event included Alex Welsh
Alex Welsh
Alex Welsh was a Scottish jazz musician, who played the cornet, trumpet and sang.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage 'Leith Silver Band' and gigged with Archie Semple's 'Capital Jazz Band'. After moving to London in the early 1950s, Welsh formed his own band...
, Diz Disley
Diz Disley
Diz Disley was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and graphic designer. He is best known for his jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, and for his collaborations with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli....
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
Chris Barber
Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with...
, Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
, Ken Colyer
Ken Colyer
Kenneth Colyer was a British jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted totally to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes.-Biography:...
, Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine was an English jazz clarinetist, whose main claim to fame was his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959...
, Bob Wallis
Bob Wallis
Robert 'Bob' Wallis was a British jazz musician, who had a handful of chart success in the early 1960s, during the UK traditional jazz boom.-Biography:...
, Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner was an English saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.Born Malcolm Bruce Turner in Saltburn, he learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto sax while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
, Mick Mulligan
Mick Mulligan
Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene....
and Melly.
He retired from jazz in the early 1960s when he became a film critic for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and a writer on the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
s satirical newspaper strip Flook
Flook (cartoon)
Flook was a British comic strip which ran from 1949 to 1984 in the Daily Mail newspaper. It was drawn by Wally Fawkes , who signed the strips as "Trog"....
, illustrated by Trog
Wally Fawkes
Wally Fawkes Wally Fawkes Wally Fawkes (born 1924 in Vancouver, Canada (left in 1931 for England) is a British-Canadian jazz clarinetist and, until recently, a satirical cartoonist...
. He was also scriptwriter on the 1967 satirical film
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
Smashing Time
Smashing Time
Smashing Time is a 1967 British comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London.It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis...
. This period of his life is described in Owning Up.
He returned to jazz in the early 1970s with John Chilton
John Chilton
John James Chilton is a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts....
's Feetwarmers, a partnership that ended only in 2003. He later sang with Digby Fairweather's band. He released three albums in the 1970s including Nuts in 1972 and Son of Nuts the next year. He wrote a light column, Mellymobile, in Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
magazine describing their tours.
He was an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
and a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
. George Melly was President of the BHA 1972-4, and was also an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Association. He was also a member of the Max Miller Appreciation Society and on 1 May 2005 joined Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
, Sir Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
and others in unveiling a statue of Miller in Brighton.
His singing style, particularly for the blues, was strongly influenced by his idol, Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
. While many British musicians of the time treated jazz and blues with almost religious solemnity, Melly rejoiced in their more bawdy side, and this was reflected in his choice of songs and exuberant stage performances. He recorded a track called "Old Codger" with The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
in 1978 specially written for him by the band.
Melly moved from strictly homosexual relationships in his teens and twenties to largely heterosexual relationships from his thirties onwards. He married twice and had a child from each marriage, though his first child Pandora was not known to be his until she was much older. He married his second wife, Diana Moynihan (née Dawson), in 1963. She brought with her two children (Candy and Patrick) from two previous marriages, though Patrick later died from heroin overdose in his twenties. Their own son, Tom, was born two days after the wedding. Diana published an autobiography in 2005 of their life and (open) marriage
Open marriage
Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
together, which is included in the bibliography. The two participated in a televised celebrity couples quiz in the 1970s. Asked separately what made them decide to marry, Diana announced "I was pregnant!" and George, in his turn, merely said, "The less said about that, the better."
Brecon
George and Diana Melly had a country retreat, The Tower, at Scethrog in the Brecon BeaconsBrecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
, between 1971 and 1999. This was somewhere Melly could escape the jazz world and indulge his love of fishing on the River Usk
River Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
. However, jazz followed him to Wales and this led to a series of celebrated performances in the area and in the South Wales Valleys.
In 1984 the Brecon Jazz Festival
Brecon Jazz Festival
Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held on an annual basis in the rural surroundings of Brecon, in south Powys, Mid Wales. Normally staged in early August, it plays host to a range of jazz musicians who travel from across the world to take part and to many visiting tourists who are attracted...
was conceived by a group of jazz enthusiasts who gained widespread support from the local community. George Melly was the first musician to be contracted for the opening festival and remained a supporter until his death. He was a factor in the festival's success and served as its President in 1991.
As well as being the President of the Contemporary Arts Society For Wales, Melly was a contemporary art collector. His passion for surrealist art continued throughout his life and he lectured and wrote extensively on the subject.
His passion for fly-fishing never dwindled and in later life he sold several important paintings (by Magritte and Picasso) to enable him to buy a mile of the River Usk
River Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
. In 2000 he published Hooked! a book on fly-fishing.
Later years
He was still active in music, journalism, and lecturing on surrealism and other aspects of modern artModern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
until his death, despite worsening health problems such as vascular dementia
Multi-infarct dementia
Multi-infarct dementia is one type of vascular dementia. Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease in older adults. Multi-infarct dementia is thought to be an irreversible form of dementia, and its onset is caused by a number of small strokes or...
, incipient emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
and lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. His encouragement and support to Gallery owner Michael Budd led to a posthumous exhibition for the modern abstract artist François Lanzi
François Lanzi
François Lanzi was a French-born artist who lived a large part of his adult life in the United Kingdom.- His life :...
.
In addition to age-related health problems, Melly suffered from environmental hearing loss because of long-term exposure to on-stage sound systems
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
, and his hearing in both ears became increasingly poor. Despite these problems, however, Melly would often joke that he found some parts of his ailing health to be enjoyable. He often equated his dementia to a quite amusing LSD trip, and took a lot of pleasure from his deafness, which he said made many boring conversations more interesting.
On Sunday 10 June 2007, Melly made an appearance, announced as his last ever performance, at the 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
in London. This was on the occasion of a fund-raising event to benefit the charity supporting his carers.
He died at his London home of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
(which he had for the last two years of his life) aged 80 on 5 July 2007.
On 17 February 2008 BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
broadcast George Melly's Last Stand (produced by Walker George Films
Walker George Films
Founded in 2005 by Stephen Walker and Sally George, Walker George Films is a production company producing films for British television, including BBC, ITV and Channel 4....
), an intimate portrayal of Melly's last months.
His sister Andrée Melly
Andrée Melly
Andrée Melly is an English actress.She appeared in many British films, including the 1954 comedy The Belles of St Trinian's and the 1960 Hammer Horror film The Brides of Dracula...
is an actress, living in Ibiza with her husband, Oscar Quitak
Oscar Quitak
Oscar Quitak is a British film and television actor.His television credits include: Z-Cars, Man in a Suitcase, Doomwatch, Ace of Wands, Colditz, The Changes, The New Avengers, Open All Hours, Kessler as Josef Mengele, Chessgame, Howards' Way, A Very British Coup, Yes, Prime Minister and...
. His widow, Diana Melly, is an author. In the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary Stoned in Suburbia Melly compared a joint of cannabis to a fine port after dinner, and said "it should be passed round to the right, you swines."
Discography
- Nuts (1972)
- Son of Nuts (1973)
- The World of George Melly (The Fifties) (1973, Decca SPA 288)
- It's George (1974)
- Melly is at it Again (1976)
External links
- George Melly — Obituary and Public Tributes
- The George Melly Sculpture Appeal in Brecon, Powys
- BBC Obituary
- Obituary The Independent 6 July 2007
- Obituary The Guardian 6 July 2007
- Obituary The Times 6 July 2007
- Obituary The Daily Telegraph 6 July 2007
- Obituary The New York Times 6 July 2007
- George Melly website
- Obituary The Economist 12 July 2007
- Meet the Author interview in 2000
- George Always: Portraits of George Melly by Maggi Hambling at Liverpool Walker Art Gallery 2009