The Singing Kettle
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The Singing Kettle is a folk music group who are well known for performing traditional children's songs with a distinctly Scottish flair.
The group began in the mid 1980's with the husband and wife team of Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise, building on their success as folk musicians as "Cilla and Artie". Their first venture under "The Singing Kettle" was a children's album, featuring everything from traditional Scottish rhymes to songs learned on their folk tour of the states. For certain tracks, real children were used, including their daughter Jane, creating the first set of "Kettle Kids".
The idea came of turning "The Singing Kettle" album into a show - unimpressed by other children's theatre shows at the time. The show toured primary schools, with the idea of clues for songs found inside kettles and they recruited their friend, Gary Coupland. The touring show eventually developed into a more plot-led piece of musical theatre and they began performing in large scale theatres across the country. Over the years the Singing Kettle have presented their own specially written shows including The Boogie Woogie Zoo, The Time Machine, Pirates, Wild West Show, Busy Road Show, World Tour, Funny Farm, Homemade Band - to name a few.
They were joined for a time by Cilla and Artie's daughter, Jane, who left to be in the electro band Motormark, replaced by Kevin McLeod - the former company stage manager.
Aside from their several albums of traditional children's music, The Singing Kettle has also released several DVDs and made five television series with BBC Scotland. They also tour regularly throughout the United Kingdom, performing their highly successful stage show. They have performed command performances before both Prince Charles and Jordan's royal family. The three founding members of The Singing Kettle (Cilla, Artie, and Gary) have each been honored with the MBE.