George Melly has gone today to liven up heaven.
"In olden days a glimpse of stocking was something shocking, now anything goes," is the first words of the first song of a collection DVD of the same name in the unmistakable not to be taken seriously voice of George Melly, accompanied by a top notch traditional jazz group of musicians led by John Chilton and his Footwarmers.
George Melly has died at the age of 80, survived by his great wife, two children and step child, and four grand children, living and fighting every second of his being.
I first encountered George as a sixteen/ seventeen year old at the Cy Laurie Club in Great Windmill Street close to the Windmill Theatre and next to a Milk bar which sold hot sandwiches and was frequented by ladies of the night. He was then in his late twenties singing with the Mick Mulligan revivalist traditional jazz, whose base player had a Can Can female garter around its handle. They played their hearts out, drank to excess and generally knew how to wring out of life all its juices. A few years later they accompanied Louis Armstrong on his visit to England and came to the Davis Theatre Croydon.
George was a creative individualistic artist of many parts progressing from being a homosexual to bisexual to heterosexual and sexual swinger, running a couple of mistresses in addition to his open marriage wife; to his love of flamboyant attire, fedoras, zoot suits and crazy ties, to spending hours fishing, to being a serious critic, writer and lecturer, comic character writer and painter, and the great singer entertainer who refused treatment for his lung cancer and refused to give up singing despite the onset of dementia, saying he wanted to drop dead after leaving the stage or passing away after dozing on some river bank with a couple of trout in his bag.
George and his amazing wife of over forty years Diana have both written as frankly and openly about each other and their lives with others as anyone and both merit non Hollywood films. Diana's "Take a girl like me" and George in Owning Up.
Tonight I will open a bottle of pure Scottish malt and drink a wee dram or two to George and Diana, and I wager his wake will be the hottest party of the year. Watch out heaven George is coming to liven things up.
"In olden days a glimpse of stocking was something shocking, now anything goes," is the first words of the first song of a collection DVD of the same name in the unmistakable not to be taken seriously voice of George Melly, accompanied by a top notch traditional jazz group of musicians led by John Chilton and his Footwarmers.
George Melly has died at the age of 80, survived by his great wife, two children and step child, and four grand children, living and fighting every second of his being.
I first encountered George as a sixteen/ seventeen year old at the Cy Laurie Club in Great Windmill Street close to the Windmill Theatre and next to a Milk bar which sold hot sandwiches and was frequented by ladies of the night. He was then in his late twenties singing with the Mick Mulligan revivalist traditional jazz, whose base player had a Can Can female garter around its handle. They played their hearts out, drank to excess and generally knew how to wring out of life all its juices. A few years later they accompanied Louis Armstrong on his visit to England and came to the Davis Theatre Croydon.
George was a creative individualistic artist of many parts progressing from being a homosexual to bisexual to heterosexual and sexual swinger, running a couple of mistresses in addition to his open marriage wife; to his love of flamboyant attire, fedoras, zoot suits and crazy ties, to spending hours fishing, to being a serious critic, writer and lecturer, comic character writer and painter, and the great singer entertainer who refused treatment for his lung cancer and refused to give up singing despite the onset of dementia, saying he wanted to drop dead after leaving the stage or passing away after dozing on some river bank with a couple of trout in his bag.
George and his amazing wife of over forty years Diana have both written as frankly and openly about each other and their lives with others as anyone and both merit non Hollywood films. Diana's "Take a girl like me" and George in Owning Up.
Tonight I will open a bottle of pure Scottish malt and drink a wee dram or two to George and Diana, and I wager his wake will be the hottest party of the year. Watch out heaven George is coming to liven things up.
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