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Jazz performer George Melly dies Jazz performer George Melly dies
(10 minutes later)
Jazz singer and author George Melly has died at his London home at the age of 80, his wife Diana has announced.Jazz singer and author George Melly has died at his London home at the age of 80, his wife Diana has announced.
The flamboyant performer had been diagnosed with lung cancer and vascular dementia, a condition which affects the brain after small strokes.The flamboyant performer had been diagnosed with lung cancer and vascular dementia, a condition which affects the brain after small strokes.
Despite his illness, the jazz veteran was still appearing on stage in the weeks leading up to his death.Despite his illness, the jazz veteran was still appearing on stage in the weeks leading up to his death.
In January, the Liverpool-born musician was taken to hospital after collapsing on stage in East Sussex.In January, the Liverpool-born musician was taken to hospital after collapsing on stage in East Sussex.
His final concert took place at the 100 Club in London on 10 June.His final concert took place at the 100 Club in London on 10 June.
Melly, who began his career in the Navy, was also a lecturer on art history as well as a film and television critic.
Melly combined his jazz career with writing and broadcastingHe also wrote the words for the Flook cartoon strips in the Daily Mail, drawn by his friend Wally Fawkes.
The son of a wool broker and an actress, Melly was born in Liverpool in 1926 and educated at Stowe.
He joined the Navy at the end of World War II before joining jazz trumpeter Mick Mulligan's band, travelling the length and breadth of Britain.
"They were terrific times we had. Hard drinking and squalid digs but absolutely no regrets," Melly recalled.
After quitting music in 1962 to concentrate on writing, he resumed his jazz career in the 1970s and went back on the road with John Chilton's Feetwarmers.
Away from show business, his main recreation was fly fishing - a passion he indulged at the mile-long stretch of the River Usk he owned beside his holiday home in Brecon, Gwent.