Ivor Cutler: A Life Outside the Sitting Room Talk

Ivor Cutler: A Life Outside the Sitting Room is a talk about one of post-war Britain’s most recognisable authors, poets and performers. Mr Cutler (as he preferred to be known) wrote and recorded some of the most unusual and memorable songs and poems in British popular culture, including the hilarious and unsettling ‘Life in a Scotch Sitting Room’ series. Described by fans and commentators as an outsider because of his eccentric behaviour on and off stage, in many ways he was an insider, working for thirty years as a primary school teacher, gathering a body of fans from the heart of the cultural and social establishment, and regularly appearing on mainstream media. He was one of the first – if not the first – performers to appear on BBC radio 1, 2, 3 and 4, recorded more John Peel sessions than any other act except The Fall, was one of the few people to guest on a Robert Wyatt album, appeared as Buster Bloodvessel in the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and single-handedly made the harmonium cool.

Bruce, a fan of Ivor's since he first heard him on a John Peel session, will draw on evidence from official documents, print and broadcast media; archive interviews with Ivor Cutler, his close friends and family, fans and collaborators; and new interviews with fans, friends and fellow performers, to talk about Ivor's artistic and personal lives, from his childhood in Glasgow's emigre community through his brief time in the RAF, to his career on TV, radio, the movies.

Presented by The Holloway Norwich.

This is an 18+ event