Ivor Cutler

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Ivor Cutler

Background information
Born 15 January 1923(1923-01-15)
Origin Glasgow, Scotland
Died 3 March 2006 (aged 83)
Genre(s) Spoken word, Trad jazz, Comedy rock
Occupation(s) Poet, Songwriter, Humorist
Instrument(s) Harmonium
Years active 1959 - 2004
Label(s) Virgin, Rough Trade, Creation

Ivor Cutler (15 January 1923 – 3 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme. He appeared in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film in 1967 and on Neil Innes' television programmes. Cutler also wrote books for children and adults and was a teacher at A. S. Neill's Summerhill School and for 30 years in inner-city schools in London.

In live performances Cutler would often accompany himself on a harmonium. Phyllis King appears on several of his records, and for a number of years was a part of his concerts. She usually read small phrases but also read a few short stories. The two starred in a BBC radio series, King Cutler, in which they performed their material jointly and singly. Cutler is known to have had a long term relationship with King, but they never married or set up home together. Cutler also collaborated with pianist Neil Ardley and singer Robert Wyatt.

Many of Cutler's poems and songs involve conversations delivered as a monologue and, in these, one party is often Cutler as a child. Cutler describes poverty and neglect from his parents with great stoicism. He focuses on acceptance and gratitude for the basic elements of life, nature and love, which allows him to make points about mother-love in particular. The humour develops from the child's curiosity and the playful or self-serving lies the parent tells him to get, for example, a chore done or simply to stop the incessant questions. Cutler recited his poems in a gentle Scottish burr, and this, combined with the absurdity of the subject matter, is a mix that earned him a faithful cult following.[1] John Peel once remarked that Cutler was probably the only performer whose work had been featured on Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4[2]. Cutler was a member of the Noise Abatement Society and the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. He retired from performing in 2004, and died on 3 March 2006.[3]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Cutler was born in Glasgow into a middle-class Jewish family of eastern European descent. He cited his childhood as the source of his artistic temperament, recalling a sense of displacement when his younger brother was born: "Without that I would not have been so screwed up as I am, and therefore not as creative."[4] In 1939 Cutler was evacuated to Annan"[5]. He joined the Royal Air Force as a navigator in 1942 but was soon dismissed for "dreaminess".[1] He moved to London where he was employed by the Inner London Education Authority to teach music, dance, drama and poetry to 7- to 11-year-olds.[6] Cutler's deeply held views on humanity meant he disliked corporal punishment, and on leaving a teaching job he held in the 1950s, he cut up his tawse and handed the pieces to the class.[7] He was married briefly and had two children.

[edit] Musical career

Cutler began writing songs and poetry in the late 1950s, making the first of many appearances on BBC radio on the Home Service, where he featured on the Monday Night at Home programme on 38 occasions between 1959 and 1963.[6] He gained popularity playing songs where he would often accompany himself on the harmonium,[6] and this success led to the release of a series a records starting with 1959's Ivor Cutler of Y'Hup EP. Cutler continued to make appearances on the BBC's programmes during the 1960s, and as a result of an appearance on the television show Late Night Line-Up, he was noticed by Paul McCartney, who invited Cutler to appear in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film.[3] In the film, Cutler plays bus conductor Buster Bloodvessel, who becomes passionately attracted to Ringo Starr's aunt Jessie. Following this film role, Cutler recorded a second LP. Ludo (1967), produced by the Beatles' George Martin, and credited to the Ivor Cutler Trio, made up of Cutler with bassist Gill Lyons and percussionist Trevor Tomkins. The LP, taking inspiration from trad jazz and boogie-woogie, sees Cutler playing the piano as well as his usual harmonium, and is considered the most traditionally musical of all his records.[6]

Ludo did not enjoy great commercial success, and after its release Cutler continued to perform for BBC radio, recording the first of his sessions for John Peel in 1969. Cutler's work on Peel's shows would introduce him to successive generations of fans, and in the early 1990s, Cutler said, "Thanks to Peel, I gained a whole new audience, to the amazement of my older fans, who find themselves among 16-to-35s in theatres, and wonder where they came from."[8]

Ivor Cutler at his flat in Gospel Oak, N.London taken by Roger Kohn in 1973.
Ivor Cutler at his flat in Gospel Oak, N.London taken by Roger Kohn in 1973.

In the 1970s, Neil Ardley had Cutler sing on his A Symphony of Amaranths LP (1971),[9] and former-Soft Machine singer Robert Wyatt asked Cutler to play harmonium and sing on two of the tracks on his Rock Bottom LP (1974). The collaboration with Wyatt led to Cutler being signed to Wyatt's record label Virgin Records, for whom Cutler recorded three LPs in the mid-1970s: Dandruff (1974), Velvet Donkey (1975) and Jammy Smears (1976). (It also led to Wyatt covering Cutler's "Go and sit upon the grass", from Velvet Donkey, as "Grass" on his 1981 Nothing Can Stop Us album.) Each of these discs intersperses Cutler's poems and songs with readings by his performing companion Phyllis King.

During the decade Cutler used his sessions for John Peel to introduce numerous episodes of his Life in a Scotch Sitting Room series, culminating in the 1978 LP Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2 (Volume 1 was a track on the 1974 album Dandruff), regarded as a particularly autobiographical work,[6] on which Cutler recounts tales from his childhood amid an environment of exaggerated Scottishness. Cutler also produced the work as a book, which was published in 1984 with illustrations by Martin Honeysett.[9]

In the 1980s, Rough Trade Records released three LPs—Privilege (1983), Prince Ivor (1986) and Gruts (1986). He also released the single "Women of the World", recorded with Linda Hirst, through the label in 1983. Cutler enjoyed further interest from the Creation record company in the 1990s, best known at the time as Oasis' record label. The label released two new volumes of poems and spoken word work: A Wet Handle (1997) and A Flat Man (1998).

[edit] Discography

[edit] Bibliography

Poetry
Prose
Children's books
  • Meal One. Armada Lions.
  • Balooky Klujypop. Heinemann.
  • The Animal House. Armada Lions.
  • The Vermillion Door (1984). Walker Books.
  • The Pomegranate Door (1984). Walker Books.
  • Herbert the Chicken (1984). Walker Books.
  • Herbert the Elephant (1984). Walker Books.
  • Herbert the Questionmark (1984). Walker Books.
  • Herbert the Herbert (1984). Walker Books.
  • One and a Quarter (1987). ISBN 0-233-98060-1
  • Herbert: 5 Stories (1988). Walker Books. ISBN 0-7445-4778-4
  • Grape Zoo (1991). Walker Books. ISBN 0-7445-2327-3
  • Doris the Hen (1992). Heinemann. ISBN 0-434-93354-6
  • The New Dress (1995). The Bodley Head. ISBN 0-370-31873-0
Other
  • Befriend a Bacterium: Stickies by Ivor Cutler (1992). Pickpocket Books. ISBN 1-873422-11-3 (A collection of stickers that Cutler used to hand out to people).

[edit] DVD video

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Obituary (7 Mar. 2006). The Daily Telegraph.
  2. ^ John Peel programme, circa 1986
  3. ^ a b Espiner, Mark (7 Mar. 2006). Obituary. The Guardian.
  4. ^ BBC News (7 Mar. 2006). "Cult poet Ivor Cutler dies at 83". Retrieved 10 Mar. 2006.
  5. ^ Guardian (7 Mar. 2006). "Unassuming master of offbeat humour whose eccentric take on the world entertained generations".
  6. ^ a b c d e Mason, Stewart. "Biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved 10 Mar. 2006.
  7. ^ Smith, Claire (13 Mar. 2004). "Survival of the wittiest". The Scotsman.
  8. ^ Garner, Ken (1993). In Session Tonight. London: BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-36452-1
  9. ^ a b Gibson, David (3 Apr. 1995). "Cutler Collection". Retrieved 10 Mar. 2006.
  10. ^ An Elpee and Two Epees is a CD compilation of Cutler's first three releases.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Cutler, Ivor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Scottish poet, humorist
DATE OF BIRTH 15 January 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH 3 March 2006
PLACE OF DEATH