(image credit: Flickr)
Flamboyant jazz veteran George Melly, who died on 5 July 2007 aged 80, was one of the most colourful characters in British showbusiness of the last 50 years.
A true Renaissance man, he wrote 13 books, gave lectures on fine art and performed on stage for nearly sixty years while also finding time to indulge his passions for film, fishing, drink and sex.
His style was heavily influenced by his jazz idols Fats Waller and Bessie Smith and he became famous for his performances in which he delighted audiences with saucy jokes and witty asides.
With his loud suits, hats and cigars, he epitomized the gangster style of the 1930s.
Alan George Heywood Melly was born in Liverpool on 17 August 1926. His interest in jazz, blues and art began at the liberal Stowe public school.
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