George Melly

Sitterback to top

• (Alan) George Heywood Melly (1926-2007), Jazz singer, critic, writer and lecturer. Sitter in 6 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Lewis Morley (1925-), Photographer. Artist of 301 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

As a jazz singer, Melly sang with Mick Mulligan's Magnolia Jazz Band (1946-61) and from 1974 with John Chilton's Feetwarmers. His early experiences in the Royal Navy and as an assistant at the London Gallery are recalled in Rum, Bum, and Concertina (1977) and Don't Tell Sybill (1997). With Willy Fawkes (Trog), he wrote the Strip cartoon Flook (1956-1971). From 1965-1973 Melly was the Observer critic for (successively) pop music, film and TV, and has since widely lectured on art. Other books include owning up (1964), The Media Mob, (with Barry Fantoni, 1980) and works on surrealism and primitive art. He is seen in this photograph taken in the 1960s reading a newspaper.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Fryer, Jonathan, Character Sketches: Soho in the Fifties and Sixties, 1998, p. 55
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 426

Portrait setback to top

• Photographs by Lewis Morley, 1959-70

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Reading
• Smoking