Tributes paid as DJ Mel loses cancer battle

Published on Tuesday 6 May 2008 10:24

TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular city DJ and events promoter who has lost her fight against cancer.

Melanie Denyer, of Leith, had been receiving chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer and was told in January she had just months to live.

But the 37-year-old, who was one of the organisers of the Capital's goth music festival Dark City, vowed to fight the illness.

Since her death last Wednesday her page on social networking site MySpace has filled with tributes.

Among them is a post from organisers of the Velvet Edinburgh Women's Club Nights, where she had performed as a DJ.

They wrote: "We are missing the lovely Mel so much, but it is best for Mel that she is now out of her dreadful suffering.

"Through her very brave fight Mel was strong, determined, brave, focused, dignified, compassionate, kind, polite, articulate and always put others first."

A friend, Stef, said: "I'll never forget you, your lunatic sense of humour, your friendship, your support and understanding, so many amazing memories which keep going through my head."

And another, Pamela, wrote: "We'll always be together, together in electric dreams. Love you always my dear".

Well known on the city's goth and alternative scene, she developed an interest in DJing while working in radio and journalism in 1990. Recently she had been involved in promoting club nights in Edinburgh, as well as the Dark City festival. She also helped organise club nights in London and Chicago, was a promoter of the Whitby Goth Weekend, and wrote song lyrics and poetry.

She wrote candidly on her MySpace profile about her illness and the treatment. Her ordeal started in October last year after an operation to remove an ovarian cyst revealed evidence of cancer.

After two months of chemotherapy she had hoped to get the all-clear in January, but instead a scan showed her tumour had nearly doubled in size.

She fought on with the support of friends and family and started receiving chemotherapy treatment again in February.

In one of her last posts she wrote: "It can be extremely stressful just getting through daily life, both physically and mentally, which unfortunately makes it extremely hard to enjoy myself.

"However, lots of people are being very kind to me and that helps me to be as positive as possible and to keep fighting."

Despite her determination to beat the illness, doctors told her the type of cancer she had meant there was only a small chance the treatment would work.

She died peacefully at St Columba's Hospice on Wednesday and her funeral will take place at Seafield Crematorium on Friday at 2pm.