Oddball Folk Artist – Ivor Cutler

Ivor Cutler (January 15, 1923 – March 3, 2006) said that if his kid brother had not been born, thereby causing Ivor to lose his place at the center of the universe, he would never have been so screwed-up, and therefore not as creative.  In his typically understated (and slightly Charles Addams-esque) fashion, he claimed that he tried to eliminate his young sibling, but that his Auntie Eva came into the room and “thought that it wasn’t a good idea.”

Born in Glasgow to a middle-class Jewish family, Ivor was raised in typical Scottish austerity (which he said he liked.) The often dour side of existence was softened, however by the singing of music around the family piano (in 3-part harmonies as the family grew larger).  At age 6, Ivor won a school prize for his rendition of Robert Burns’ “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose”.   School was not always so pleasant, however, as he was beaten on many occasions with the leather strap that Scottish teachers used freely in those days.  Later, his whimsical reminiscences of his youth would become some of his most famous work, as Life in a Scottish Sitting Room, Part 2.

At age 15 Ivor decided he wanted to become a composer, being an admirer of the simple, strong melodies of Franz Schubert.  Unsuccessful (and untrained) at this point, he was quickly side-tracked by the onset of war, during which time he determined to demonstrate that Jewish people carried their share of the load by enlisting with the RAF as a navigator.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) he was dismissed for being far too dreamy, as he would get lost in reverie looking at clouds out of the airplane window.  After the war he tried settling down by teaching, but quickly moved from the public schools (which he detested) to the new progressive school, Summerhill, where his interaction with children helped kick-start his latent artistic desires.  Now married (and with children) he decided to try writing and selling songs for others to sing.  But in 1957, after failing to hawk his songs in Tin Pan Alley, he decided he should try singing them himself.  It was a life-changing decision. Going into the Box and Cox one evening, he put on what would become his famous deadpan expression and asked Mr. Box if he could sing one of his songs for him.  Shown to a piano against the wall, he sat down and began playing a humorous number.  Not glancing up until he finished the piece, he looked over and saw Mr. Box on the floor, his face purple from trying to stifle his laughter.  He assured Box it was okay to laugh, and was promptly started in his new musical career.

He started to read some of his idiosyncratic poems and stories on the BBC, often accompanying himself with the drone of a pedal-powered harmonium, the instrument with which he would be most often identified.  He later performed on late night television, where he was spotted by Paul McCartney, who invited him to appear in the Beatle’s movie Magical Mystery Tour as Buster Bloodvessel (the bus driver who develops a passion for Ringo’s aunt).  In the 70’s Cutler teamed up with  Soft Machine singer Robert Wyatt, and the collaboration led to Ivor being signed on with Wyatt’s record label, Virgin, where he recorded three of his more well-known LPs, Dandruff, Velvet Donkey, and Jammy Smears.  With offbeat, humorous tunes such as “Go and Sit Upon the Grass”, “I Got no Common Sense”, and “Bicarbonate of Chicken”, he found acceptance with audiences of several generations, including many of the now grown-up children he taught in the 50s.   His songs and stories were both amusing and cathartic, helping him to assuage his inner demons in a constructive manner.  His life is well summarized by some of his own epigrams, such as “Imperfection is an end; perfection is only an aim”, and “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly”.

For more on Ivor, visit the fan page at http://www.ivorcutler.org/