Their marathon musical and comedy performances were sensational and drew turn-away audiences. Their gigs at Johannesburg's Troubadour and their long-running club residency engagements in Durban, East London and Cape Town were known for drawing full houses during the heady times that were the mid-60s.
While Beatle- and Rolling Stones- influenced bands were common, Mel, Mel & Julian stood out with their simple vocal/acoustic guitar set up, and they sang and played for attentive, hushed audiences, who were otherwise rolling helplessly in their seats, convulsed with helpless laughter at the high jinks of Mel Miller's jokes and stories.
They headlined at University concerts in Cape Town, Grahamstown, Durban and Johannesburg. .. their combination of well-played folk music mixed with comedy and social commentary has them compared to a cross between The Kingston Trio and the Smothers Brothers ... and yet their sound was unique, combining the tight quality vocals of Big Mel and Little Mel with the innovative guitar picking of Big Julie, who stood head and shoulders above most guitarists in South Africa.
Their repertoire spanned music from all over the Globe, and earned compliments from one of the Everly Brothers, the Seekers, and The Ivy League... and one of their biggest fans was the famous South African country & western singer, Billy Forrest, who became their manager, and who promoted them into the top layer of South African show biz.
They recorded ground-breaking LPs that turned folk music on its head, and which were standard setters for musical entertainment. All within a short span of a little less than five years... read on about how these three different characters met, and coalesced into a tight musical unit and became a wonderfully consistent band.