Graeme Hunter Kelling (4 April 1957 – 10 June 2004) was a Scottish musician and the original guitarist with the Scottish
pop band
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...
.
Born in
Paisley, Scotland, Kelling was brought up in Mount Vernon in the East End of Glasgow and educated at the
High School of Glasgow
The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...
. Born into the
Plymouth Brethren sect, he turned away from it in order to travel and to follow music. In the early 1980s he worked in the Glasgow rock music scene as both bandmember (Tune Cookies, On a Clear Day, Precious, and The Painted Word) and session guitarist. Having joined Deacon Blue in 1984 (while the band was still called "Dr Love"), Kelling went on to co-write their 1987 single "Loaded" and the B-side "Ronnie Spector" (the latter from the second single release of "
Dignity
Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...
"). He played on the first four Deacon Blue albums – ''
Raintown'', ''
When the World Knows Your Name
''When the World Knows Your Name'' is the second album by the Scottish rock (music), rock band Deacon Blue. It was released in 1989 and attained the number 1 chart position in the UK Albums Chart.
"Real Gone Kid" was the band's first Top 10 ...
'', ''
Fellow Hoodlums
''Fellow Hoodlums'' is the third studio album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in 1991. It includes four singles: " Your Swaying Arms", the Top 10 hit "Twist and Shout", " Closing Time" and " Cover from the Sky".
It reached no. ...
'' and ''
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing
''Whatever You Say, Say Nothing'' is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in 1993. Changing from producer Jon Kelly to the team of Steve Osborne and Paul Oakenfold, this album presented a change in musical sty ...
'' – 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 for the next five years (contributing to the albums ''
Walking Back Home
''Walking Back Home'' is an album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue released in 1999. It was their first album since reforming that year after disbanding in 1994. A part studio/part compilation album, it contains nine of their earlier s ...
'' and ''
Homesick'').
Kelling died in 2004 in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
at the age of 47. He was survived by his wife (television producer Julie Smith) and two children, Alexander and Grace.
References
External links
Gazetteer for Scotland biographyBBC obituary
1957 births
2004 deaths
Musicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Scottish male guitarists
Deaths from cancer in Scotland
Scottish pop guitarists
People educated at the High School of Glasgow
Scottish rock guitarists
Lead guitarists
Deacon Blue members
20th-century British guitarists
20th-century British male musicians
{{UK-guitarist-stub