A very special and personal tribute by TRE's Giles Brown to veteran rocker, Mel Williams, a musical legend on the Costa del Sol...who passed away early this month.

Veteran rocker, Mel Williams, was a  a musical legend on the Costa del Sol for many years...

To quote the man himself: "I often wonder why I am still just “Nearly Famous.” I have toured with stars, sung in clip joints and cabarets, sh*t holes and stadiums, pubs, clubs and theaters, poor bars and whores bars, fields and back gardens, I’ve sung for royalty and rockers, punks and pensioners. Bank robbers, train robbers, dopers and dealers. I’ve done more laying than a hundred year old chicken, and I am still only "Nearly Famous." I’ve been on British National Radio and TV, and Spanish TV and Turkish TV, Lebanese TV and French TV, Argentinean TV, and American TV, BBC and ITV, ABC and who knows what TV. I’ve made singles and albums, cassettes and DVD’s, You Tube and Me Tube, knocked around with the likes of The Beatles, Bill Haley, Little Richard and Matt Monroe, toured with Gene Vincent done even more TV with The Who and The What and The Which, opened the show for The Rolling Stones and had cucumber sandwiches with Judas Priest and I’m still just “Nearly Famous.” I sang at The Albert Hall with a plethora of stars. Like Van Morrison, Joe Cocker, Mark Knoffler, Chas and Dave, et al. (How’s that for name dropping? ) And I’m still only “Nearly Famous.” I've recorded with Lonnie Donegan my own song. I’ve had skin cancer, a fat heart, suspected polio and bloody shingles. I’ve drunk enough to sink the Titanic and taken enough illicit substances to fly higher than an Eagle and I’m still alive and still only “Nearly Famous.” What can I say? Give up now at 70? Not bloody likely." 

'The Coast' lost one of it's own this month... TRE's Giles Brown, who knew Mel very well, and for many years, did this interview in 2016. We thought it only fitting to give it another airing...

#Rock