Ronnie Golden, the musician-turned-comedian who played Buddy Holly hanging upside down in an early episode of “The Young Ones” and did voice work on “Spitting Image,” died at home on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 78. His partner, film producer Grace Carley, first shared news of the death on Monday, Sept. 28.
Golden, whose real name was Tony De Meur, died while his partner was out walking their dog. A statement from Carley confirmed the death but gave no cause, calling it sudden and unexpected.
“Without any fuss or bother, he simply slipped away yesterday afternoon while I was walking the dog,” Carley said.
A Lunch in the Garden
In a later comment posted under a tribute to Golden, Carley gave new detail about his final day and said emergency responders tried to revive him.
“As his long time partner, can I just say that we should all wish for a death like his,” she said, adding: “We had a lovely lunch in the garden – lamb chops and confit chickpeas from an Ottolengi recipe- and a cheeky glass of Rose – which he didn’t even finish. I went out to walk the dog and came back exactly 40 minutes later to find him just gone. The NHS kicked in within minutes and worked themselves tirelessly to bring him back, but he was gone.”
Tributes From the Comedy Circuit
Carley invited his friends and colleagues to share their memories, and replies arrived quickly from across the British comedy circuit.
Musical comic Steve Gribbin wrote: “Such sad news about the death of comedy legend, very funny act, excellent musician and all-round good fella Tony De Meur aka Ronnie Golden.” Gribbin added that he had looked forward to seeing Golden each year at the Comedians’ Christmas Party, and he sent his sympathies to Carley and the family.
Comedian Charmian Hughes said she was devastated. She first saw The Fabulous Poodles while at St Andrews University, went on to share bills with Golden for decades and called him a true comedy friend. Everyone had been left stunned by the news, said Alternative comedy pioneer Jenny Lecoat, who added that Golden, a significant figure in her life for more than 40 years, would not be forgotten.
A hugely talented performer and writer, and a fine storyteller over a pint — that was how Comedy Store Player Richard Vranch remembered Golden. Ronnie And The Rex, he said, played a set at his wedding, and the two of them had once appeared together in a striptease act called Hunx. Peter Grahame, who runs Downstairs At The King’s Head in Crouch End, said the loss was still sinking in, that he felt as though he had known De Meur forever, and sent his thoughts to Carley and to Golden’s family and friends.
From Poodles to Punchlines
Bandleading came before comedy for De Meur. In 1975 he founded the quirky pre-new wave group The Fabulous Poodles and fronted it as lead singer and guitarist. The band appeared on “The Old Grey Whistle Test,” released three albums, toured with Meat Loaf, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Ramones, and served as Chuck Berry’s backing band. Its 1978 U.S. album “Mirror Stars” climbed to No. 61 on the Billboard album chart.
Around 1980 the Poodles disbanded, and the alternative comedy circuit gained a new act as De Meur reinvented himself as Ronnie Golden. His work came both solo and as part of The Comic Strip, and the bills he shared at London’s Comedy Store included Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle.
In episode two of the BBC sitcom “The Young Ones,” his Buddy Holly dangled upside down from the ceiling, still in his parachute, opposite series stars Mayall and Edmondson. “Spitting Image,” the satirical show watched by 15 million people at its peak, used his voice for impersonations including the musicians Mick Jagger and Roger Daltrey during its original 1980s run, and he featured on its 1986 novelty track “The Chicken Song.”
Decades of Screen Credits
He made an early TV appearance in 1983 on the Channel 4 show “Stomping On The Cat,” performing his song “Drinking At Home.” His credits also include “Pushing Up Daisies” and “The Lenny Henry Show.” Further credits reported as of Sept. 28 include the sitcoms “Interference,” “Girls on Top” and “Lenny Henry Tonite”; the sketch shows “Who Dares Wins” and “Saturday Live”; the thriller series “The Fourth Protocol”; the 1991 special “Barf Bites Back!”; and “The World Stands Up.” His final screen credit was the 2014 mockumentary film “Voices Thrown Silent.”
In later years he fronted the R&B and soul group Ronnie And The Rex. He worked regularly with the late comedy writer Barry Cryer, and the two appeared together at a Nerdstock gig put on by Robin Ince.