George Melly was open at the Old Crown, 1950s
1955
The Old Crown in Digbeth used to have jazz nights upstairs during the 1950s. Meriel recalls “I remember people saying ‘you must go to this one, this guy called George Melly is coming’ and he was beginning to make a name for himself in London. He came and he gave this performance, I did not enjoy the music very much but he was incredibly outspoken for the day. In a public performance he talked about having gay relationships and he did a dance where he took his shirt off and put his arms around himself as if someone was feeling his back and made jokes about sleeping with other men. He was one of the first to come out and be open about his sexuality.”
Contributed by: Meriel Bloor ne Monsell, 72