Published: Monday, 8th February, 2010 2:00pm

Tributes to photography legend

TRIBUTES: Keen climber Mel photographed subjects ranging from the lager lovelies to the Beatles.

A GOUROCK-born photographer who took some of the most celebrated images of our times has passed away.

Mel Gillies, who took the memorable shots of scantily-clad models which adorned cans of Tennent's Lager for decades, died recently at the age of 65.

Mr Gillies was born in John Street and went on to have an incredible career after he developed a passion for photography as a youngster.

His twin Phil today paid tribute to his brother, who had lived in Glasgow in his later years.

Phil, of Balloch, said: "Dad built an enlarger for Mel when he was 11. He started processing his own pictures and that was him hooked. He left school with not much in the way of qualifications but he could see pictures other people could not - that was his forte."

It was in the noise and clamour of the Clyde shipyards where Mel, who was educated at the old Gourock Primary and Gourock High schools, first made his name.

Phil said: "Mel started work with James Weir Photographers in Greenock and that was where he did his apprenticeship.

"He did a lot of industrial and commercial work in the early days and took the pictures at all of the launches on the Clyde."

In addition to his work in the yards, Mel also carried out extensive landscape photography assignments and blazed a trail for stills snappers at Scottish Television.

Phil said: "Mel was up at STV in the early 1960s after he won a competition to land the job. After that he went to work for the Associated Press in London and covered the funeral of Winston Churchill. He also took shots of lots of famous celebrities, like The Beatles, Miss Worlds and Sonny Liston."

But the photos which most Scots will know best were those of the 'Tennent's Girls'.

Phil said: "Mel did a lot of work for Tennent's but he also worked for Vogue and House of Fraser and ended up with an unbelievably impressive CV."

Away from his profession, Mel was a keen skier and climber, and became a close associate of mountaineer Doug Scott, the first Briton to climb to the southwest summit of Mount Everest, and who spoke at the Mel's funeral service in Clydebank.