Daily Mirror (UK) 30 Sept 1975

MELANIE'S SINGING IN THE RAIN


HAPPY TRIO Melanie, Jeordie, Leilah. Picture: ARTHUR SIDEY

BRING on the clouds. American folk singer is here. "I believe in fresh air, absorbing everything that's wrong. It takes the tension out of you," says the 28-year-old singer as we sit out in the London drizzle.

The wide-eyed star with the child like broken voice is here for a concert tour. The last time I met Melanie she was determined never to be a Mum, Today, three years later, she has two daughters - Leilah, who is nearly two, and Jeordie five and a half months. "People change their minds" she says That is what growing up is all about"

She has mainly raised her offspring on mother's milk and vegetables. Onions and carrots are Leilah's favourites. Back home in New Jersey, Melanie and her producer husband, Peter Schekeryk, live in what was a priest's retreat. At night, the family curl up in sleeping bags outside in the front yard. Snowfalls, heat waves and downpours descend upon Melanie and her brood, but only the mosquitoes are a nuisance to them. We keep them at bay by eating lots of garlic" says Melanie "It keeps the humans away, too."


Back to Chronology

Back to Melanie