Graeme Kelling

Graeme Kelling
Kelling performing in Glasgow, 2001
Kelling performing in Glasgow, 2001
Background information
Born
Graeme Hunter Kelling

(1957-04-04)4 April 1957
Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
OriginMotherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died10 June 2004(2004-06-10) (aged 47)
Glasgow, Scotland
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1980-2004
Formerly ofDeacon Blue
Spouse
Julie Smith (m. 1997)

Graeme Hunter Kelling (4 April 1957 – 10 June 2004) was a Scottish musician and the original guitarist with the Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue.

Early life

Born in Paisley, Kelling was brought up in Motherwell and attended the High School of Glasgow. Born into the Plymouth Brethren sect, he turned away from it in order to travel and to follow music.

Career

Kelling and Ricky Ross performing with Deacon Blue at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, 2001

In the early 1980s, he worked with various bands in the Glasgow rock music scene as both a member and a session guitarist. Kelling successfully joined Deacon Blue in 1986, and co-wrote their 1987 single "Loaded" and the B-side "Ronnie Spector" (the latter from the second single release of "Dignity"). He played on the first four Deacon Blue albums – Raintown, When the World Knows Your Name, Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing – before the band's first split in 1994.

Following the end of his first stint with Deacon Blue, Kelling ran a recording studio and wrote soundtrack and incidental music for film and television. He also took on work as a prose writer, contributing restaurant reviews to The List and travel writing to Peter Irvine's guide book Scotland the Best. Kelling rejoined Deacon Blue in May 1999, and despite being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early in 2000, continued working with the band until his death in 2004; contributing to the albums Walking Back Home and Homesick.

Personal life

Kelling married radio and television producer Julie Smith in 1997. The couple had two children, Alexander and Grace.

Four years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Kelling died in 2004 in Glasgow, at the age of 47.

Discography

with Deacon Blue

Studio albums

Compilation albums

References

  1. ↑ "Graeme Kelling". The Times. No. 68101. 14 June 2004. p. 24. ISSN 0140-0460.
  2. ↑ "Graeme Kelling: An Appreciation". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Graeme Kelling: An Appreciation". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
  4. ↑ "Graeme Kelling: An Appreciation". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Graeme Kelling". HeraldScotland.com. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 "AstraZeneca licenses new Alzheimer treatment". The Independent. 29 December 2005. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  1. ↑ Kelling was a member of Tune Cookies, On a Clear Day, Precious, and the Painted Word