Des de Moor obituary

My partner, Des de Moor, who has died aged 64 of a brain tumour, was the founder of Pirate Jenny’s, a long-running London cabaret club. He set up the club in 1995, initially at the Vortex jazz club and later at the Drill Hall. Aside from organising everything there – engaging all the artists, doing the publicity and taking the door money – he also acted as emcee. For many years Pirate Jenny’s was a haven for adventurous performers and audiences, who were supported by Des’s meticulous programming and fierce belief in the power of song as storytelling. He was also a cabaret musician himself, and his most notable musical achievement was the creation, with Russell Churney, of the stage show Darkness and Disgrace, with an accompanying 2003 album that reinterpreted the songs of David Bowie. Bowie himself heard the live show and in the sleeve notes for the album said that “to hear these songs in such a personalised context is a real ear-opener. I listened as though someone else had written them.” Aside from Des’s involvement in cabaret, from the early 2000s he became known as one of Britain’s leading beer writers, contributing to Campaign for Real Ale publications and writing The CAMRA Gu