Tributes to ‘charming’ M.E.N. reporter
CHARM, a sharp wit and a wicked sense of humour can take you a long way as a journalist. Andy Nott, the former M.E.N. reporter, had all three in spades.
He was also a talented wordsmith, an astute collector of key contacts for getting the inside track on crime stories, and the vocalist in the M.E.N.’s band.
He was the prince of a legendary cluster of M.E.N. reporters who would hold court in The Abercrombie, a backstreet boozer, when the paper lived on Deansgate, and later Scott Place.
Dozens of tributes have been paid to Andy, 66, who died at Salford Royal Hospital on Friday after suffering serious head injuries in a fall at his home in Handforth, Cheshire, a week earlier.
He was a crime reporter at the M.E.N. for 18 years. Former colleagues remember him with affection. Bernard Spilsbury said: “So, sad. Andy had an unstoppable sense of humour and a personality that could charm the birds off the trees... and often did!”
Don Frame said: “The very best of men. Was fortunate to have worked and played with Notty for so long. Farewell old chum.”
A staunch United fan, his band played at Christmas parties held for the paper at The Reds’ Executive Suite. Paul Taylor, an ex-M.E.N. writer and band member, said: “The last time I saw Andy we were talking about putting the band back together, which sadly never happened. Andy first joined musical forces with Don Frame and me to play at an M.E.N. Christmas party. As Thin Ice we went on to play gigs in Manchester, Cheshire, and North Wales, over the course of several years. We even went to a Manchester recording studio to cut an album for distribution among friends and family. Andy was a born performer – not just a gifted and expressive singer but also the kind of charismatic rabble-rouser any band would want for their front man.”
Reporting was in Andy’s DNA. His father, Jack, was a highlyrated reporter for the News of the World, based in Manchester. Andy did shifts for the Daily Mail in London, and worked for the Preston and Huyton Reporter, and the Birmingham Post before joining the M.E.N. After leaving the paper in 2005 Andy worked for Brief – the in-house magazine for Greater Manchester Police. He also wrote a well-received book
‘Cause of Death’ with Home Office pathologist, Dr Geoffrey Garrett.
Together with M.E.N. political writer, Ray King, he also wrote a second book ‘Detonation. The Rebirth of a City’ which was published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the 1996 IRA bombing of Manchester. Ray said: “He was a great journalist, very good friend and an utterly charming man.”