Celebrated raconteur, jazz singer and critic George Melly regales an audience with tales of his eventful life and passions.

Aged 75, the bon viveur reveals his short-term memory is faulty, yet his past is crystal clear. As Melly charts his way through a varied career - underpinned by his hunger for entertaining and performing - he recalls his early gay lifestyle, and explains his great passion for surrealism,

When George died, BBC News said "With his flamboyant suits, oversize hats and Havana cigars, George Melly was a good-time Renaissance man who indulged, often over-indulged, his passions for jazz, film, art, fishing, writing, drink and sex."

George Melly: Born 17 August 1926. Died 5 July 2007.

Producer: Claire Jones

First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in November 2001.
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