Born on January 15th, 1923, in Glasgow, absurdist poet/ songwriter Ivor Cutler has spent the past 40 years bamboozling and bemusing people with his strain of circumlocutory poetry and narratives (in a nutshell, nursery rhymes for sophisticated adults). An austere childhood in Glasgow has proved to be a source of inspiration for a number of his books and CDs, notably Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol II, which was rereleased on CD in 1995, recorded from a series on Radio Clyde in 1977.
In 1940, he became an apprentice fitter with Rolls Royce, and shortly after that, he trained as a navigator with the RAF. He was too absent-minded for military life, however, and claimed he was dismissed for dreaminess. After the second World War, Cutler became a teacher, dispensing his vague wisdom in drama and poetry to children at various schools in London.
As the 1950s rolled into the 1960s, his reputation as a performance poet began to filter out not only to London's fringe movements but nationwide (he broadcast 38 stories on BBC radio's Monday Night At Home programme between 1959 and 1963) and it wasn't too long after this that he came to the attention of The Beatles.
In a small but suitably surreal role, Cutler appeared in the Fab Four's Magical Mystery Tour as the character, Buster Bloodvessel. True cultdom followed when he was picked up by John Peel, for whom he still records snippets of weirdness. Now a frail but flinty man approaching his 80s, Cutler lives in a flat in Parliament Hill Fields, London, venturing out occasionally to perform his unique poetry to a select, loyal group of fans. Should you ever wish to visit him, he gives directions to his home on his album Prince Ivor (where he also advises any potential caller to remember to bring a spoon with them - he doesn't like sharing his cutlery). When he has the energy, he loves cycling; he dislikes noise pollution, and gets most annoyed if anyone at his concerts whistles too loudly. At one concert a few years ago, his hands continually shook while holding his prose and poetry books. He said that if there were any medical people in the audience, he was not, contrary to what they might think, suffering from tertiary syphilis.
"I am not your middle-of-the-road, big, popular `Hi everybody!' kind of person," he informed the Daily Telegraph in 1997. Surprise, surprise. By the way, anyone planning to go into a jungle in the near future should check out Cutler's savvy selection of Jungle Tips (on Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol II). They could save your life. Then again, maybe not.
Website: www.ivorcutler.org