Melanie Music Society

Recollections of the Melanie Music Society

Here are some coincidences, apologies and thanks

First, thanks to Melanie for capturing me! Thanks to all those beautiful people who joined!

A young couple in Leeds, UK formed a Melanie Fan Club, in early 1972 and closed in May of the same year, returning the £0.75 in postage stamps to the subscribers. By mid June I decided to re-launch the Society, July 1^st was the launch date, half way through the year!

So with a two-week holiday from work, phoning and visiting the Music Papers', where the editors were very friendly letting me take their Melanie files to a photocopy shop. I also visited EMI (Neighborhood), Keith Prowse Music Publishers (KPM), Buddah, Warner Bros. and 20^th Century Fox, where everyone was extremely helpful. It was very hot that summer, I got addicted to Peaches.

Melanie was at the peak of her stardom, there were four Melanie albums in the LP charts, "Brand New Key" had reached No.4 in the UK in March. I had visions of hoards of 10-year-olds wanting to join, so I purposely imposed, what seemed to me, a high yearly subscription charge of £2 (cost of LP). I used EMI's address for the first publicity. When I opened the first post(5) at EMI, and found £2 in each letter, a tear came to my eyes -- it's too difficult for me to describe why! During the 1972/4 period, the membership was of about 200 UK members plus a hand-full from around the world.

Thanks to Brian Hopkins, who in 1972 was the label manager for Neighborhood Records at EMI. He was always very helpful and friendly. Neighborhood (A Schekeryk Enterprises Ltd Company) was Melanie's own record label.

They also had other signings, but not any commercial success with them. Neighborhood Records eventually went bust.

More on Brian & Neighborhood

Thanks to Phil Symes.
Neighborhood appointed Phil Symes as their UK representative, he had been a music journalist and had interviewed Melanie several times and became a good friend in the process. He had also been the Label Manager at EMI for Tamla Motown. He boasted that 'DISC', the music paper he wrote for, had written more about Melanie than any other paper!
I went to Phil's home in Fulham one afternoon, I can't remember why! I rang his bell, he let me in, he said "Sit down";, then his great BIG Old English Sheepdog pounced on me! I was definitely seated!

Thanks to Tim Davies, who in 1972 was with Keith Prowse Music in 'Tin Pan Alley', K.P.M. were Melanie's publishers.
Coincidence: Tim turned out to be a distant cousin of mine!
The album 'Gather Me' was released here late 1971, elsewhere it came with lyrics, but not in the UK. Tim supplied copies of the 'Top Lines', which had the vocal music stave and lyrics written by hand. The lyric sheets I produced were the heart of the first Newsletter I produced.

M.M.S. Sunrise Cover More Recollections

Films Melanie has been associated with ...
All The Right Noises R.P.M.

ApologiesRainbow Dec 9th, 1971 (My first Melanie Concert)