George Melly & friends
at The 100 Club, 10th June 2007
Photographs taken by Debal Bagchi

The event:
Due to be Melly’s final gig, ‘Melly & friends’ was indeed a joyful evening, where he was joined by many of the greats of British jazz music history, as well as celebrated people from the arts and the media, both onstage as well as in the audience.
I was delighted to find a spot less than a couple of metres in front of the centre of the stage, being directly in front of the great man himself, and although he had lost considerable weight, the Spirit remained strong !…
He looked directly at me as he sang the words: “and stare Death right in the face !” as his smile metamorphosised into the ever familiar grin; one could see that he had achieved much, and most importantly, inner Peace.

The prints:
Taken on good ‘ol 35mm. black & white film (remember that !?!) with a camera bought for the purpose (hasn’t been used prior to or since then), these images show the final images of the man we remember so fondly.
This is a unique & unrepeatable set of historic images, first exhibited at the Brecon Jazz Festival 2007, in which he played an instrumental role, as well as being considered a local, living nearby and enjoying fishing on the River Usk.

The photographer:
Debal’s varied background has enabled an ability to capture images with a sense of movement and freedom; born and brought up in Ghana, Malaysia and also in the UK., with parents from India & Germany, he was initially educated as a scientist prior to retraining as a photographer,
Starting his freelance career in Sept. 1994 with ‘A Beautiful Image’, photographing primarily people and events, he’s known for his charisma and his gentle demeanour, as well as for being a master of the reportage style of photography; current work also includes training professional photographers.

Limitied Edition Prints signed by the photographer can be purchased directly
50% of profits from the sale of images donated to Admiral Nurses for Dementia
email: debal@abeautifulimage.com or call: 020 8568 2122 & 07956 861698