Ivor Cutler

Eccentric entertainer, poet, playwright and recording artist Ivor Cutler was a master of off-beat humor championed by such diverse fans as Bertrand Russell, disc jockey John Peel, Billy Connolly, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The Beatles cast him as the bus conductor in their Magical Mystery Tour (1967). On stage Cutler was described as having "the demeanor and voice of the weariest human being ever to be cursed with existence" and looking like "one of the more sinister characters in Dickens." A regular broadcaster with the BBC, Cutler's books and radio series included such titles as "Cockadoodle Don't", "Life in a Scotch Sitting Room Volume 2", "Many Flies Have Feathers", "Jammy Smears" and "Gruts". In 1980 he was awarded the Pye Radio Award for Humour and in 1994 "A Stuggy Pren" was produced for BBC Radio 3. Born in 1923 in Glasgow, Cutler was educated at Shawlands Academy and was evacuated during the war. In 1940 he became an apprentice fitter with Rolls-Royce, helping to make Spitfires. He trained to become an RAF navigator but was dismissed for being "too dreamy and absent-minded." He served the rest of the war as a storeman with an engineering company. He went on to become a teacher at AS Neill's famous progressive school Summerhill in Suffolk and continued teaching for more than 30 years. From 1954-1980 he taught drama and poetry to primary school children. In his 70s he reflected, "In a way I am still carrying on with the kids. And those who come to my gigs probably see life as a child would. It's those who have been busy making themselves into grown-ups, avoiding being a child - they're the ones who don't enjoy it." He began performing in 1957 and was spotted in the 1960s by 'Ned Sherrin', who booked him to appear on television. He appeared on "The Acker Bilk Show", "Late Night Line-Up" and other programs, and in 1967 appeared in "The Magical Mystery Tour" playing Buster Bloodvessel, the bus conductor who announces to his passengers, "I am concerned for you to enjoy yourselves within the limits of British decency." In 1967 his record, "Ludo", was produced by the Beatles producer George Martin. Cutler dressed distinctively both on and off stage, wearing plus fours and colorful hats with badges. His favorite method of communication was by sticky labels that he had especially printed, often with "Cutlerisms" attached: "Never knowingly understood", "True happiness is knowing you're a hypocrite" and "Add 15 inches to your stride and save 4% of insects". He wrote more than 300 songs and in 2000 he was signed to Oasis' former record label, Creation. He last appeared on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in January 2004. The event was filmed and shown in a documentary about his own life, Ivor Cutler: Looking for Truth with a Pin (2005). he was a member of the Noise Abatement Society and the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. In 1990 he said,"When I do die I shall be glad to get away from the loud pop music and cars but I shall miss, insofar as when one is dead one can miss anything, the beautiful kindnesses of those people to whom courtesy comes naturally."