Sad news of the death of George Melly today who was 80. I have a couple of his LP's but sadly unable to upload the tracks I wanted due to gadget failure. He is fondly remembered for his singing, his love of surrealism and dada and eccentric costumes. He also wrote three very funny autobiographies about his life in the navy and the art and jazz worlds.
Wikipedia says-
"He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe public school, where he discovered his interest in modern art, jazz and blues and started coming to terms with his sexuality. This period of his life is described in Scouse Mouse, a volume of his autobiography.
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."
Discover more about George Melly HERE.
George Melly - Masculine Women, Feminine Men
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2 comments:
I always liked George Melly as a character - didn't much go for his take on jazz, unfortunately, but as a writer and personality he was never less than interesting. I'll always remember him for two things - his constant support and promotion of surrealist art and the song he recorded with The Stranglers back in the late '70's. Old Codger indeed.
I didn't know about the Stranglers collaboration I must admit! Thanks for dropping by spice - always good to get some feedback.
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