Ronnie Golden, the musician turned comedian known for playing Buddy Holly hanging upside down in an early episode of “The Young Ones” and for voice work on “Spitting Image,” died at home Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 78. His real name was Tony De Meur.
His partner, film producer Grace Carley, confirmed the death in a statement dated Monday, Sept. 28. Golden died while she was out walking their dog.
“Without any fuss or bother, he simply slipped away yesterday afternoon while I was walking the dog,” Carley said in the statement.
Partner Describes His Last Day
In the same announcement, made Sept. 28, Carley said: “Never even fell off his perch, so to speak. I know it will be an enormous shock, as it was to me, but I am consoled by his complete lack of pain or suffering.”
By Carley’s own account, emergency responders tried to resuscitate Golden after she returned from the dog walk and found him. She described the death as having no pain or suffering, and coverage of his death as of Sept. 28 described him as dying “peacefully.”
Carley gave a fuller account of Golden’s last day in writing under a tribute post, posted after her initial announcement. “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,” she wrote.
From the Poodles to Comedy
Comedy came after a career leading a band. The quirky pre-new wave group The Fabulous Poodles was founded in 1975 by De Meur, who fronted it as lead singer and guitarist. The band appeared on “The Old Grey Whistle Test,” released three albums and toured with Meat Loaf, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Ramones. It also served as Chuck Berry’s backing band. Their 1978 U.S. album “Mirror Stars” climbed to No. 61 on the Billboard album chart.
Around 1980 the Poodles broke up, and a reinvention followed: De Meur became Ronnie Golden on the alternative comedy circuit. Solo work and stints with The Comic Strip kept him busy, and the bills he shared at London’s Comedy Store featured Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle among others.
Buddy Holly was the role Golden took in episode two of the BBC sitcom “The Young Ones,” hanging upside down from the ceiling with his parachute still on, in scenes with series stars Mayall and Edmondson.
“Spitting Image” was watched by 15 million people at its peak. Mick Jagger and Roger Daltrey were among the musicians Golden impersonated in the satirical show’s original 1980s run, and its 1986 novelty track “The Chicken Song” featured him too.
He made an early television appearance in 1983 on the Channel 4 show “Stomping On The Cat,” performing his song “Drinking At Home,” and also appeared in “Pushing Up Daisies” and “The Lenny Henry Show.” 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.
Tributes From the 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.” The annual Comedians’ Christmas Party had been something he anticipated because Golden would be there, he said, and he sent his sympathies to Carley and the family.
Devastation was how Comedian Charmian Hughes described her reaction. 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 called Golden a significant figure in her life for more than 40 years and said he 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. His wedding had a set played by Ronnie And The Rex, he said, and he recalled that the two of them once appeared together in a striptease act called Hunx.
Downstairs At The King’s Head in Crouch End is run by Peter Grahame, who said the loss was still sinking in and that he felt as though he had known De Meur forever. His thoughts went to Carley and to Golden’s family and friends.
