Bruce Lindsay

Scottish humorist Ivor Cutler was the missing link between Edward Lear and Franz Kafka. A prolific miniaturist Cutler’s songs, poems and (very) short stories were at once delightfully silly and strangely disquieting. If this was nonsense it was nonsense with a confrontational edge; absurdism in the Camusian sense. A performer of singular eccentricity, dressed in plus-fours and a bewildering succession of hats, he accompanied himself on a wheezing and clicking harmonium, while conveying an air of unparalleled lugubriousness.

The term cult artist might have been invented expressly for him (Cutler regarded it is a compliment until he realised that, in showbiz, it’s a euphemism for failure) but Bruce Lindsay’s well-researched biography impressed on me that, for a cult artist, Cutler enjoyed a surprising ubiquity in British cultural life. The range of contexts in which he appeared was diverse and he slipped with unusual ease between the streams of elite and popular culture. Perhaps because he didn’t really fit anywhere he seemed to fit almost everywhere.

He even became a sort of honorary rock star due to his appearance as the characteristically unsmiling Buster Bloodvessel in the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour film and subsequent championing by DJ John Peel. He appeared with the likes of Soft Machine, Camel, Van Morrison, Curved Air and was adored by several generations of rock fans. This was fine irony given that Cutler detested rock music and noisy things in general. A member of the Noise Abatement Society he must be the only performer in history who has ever asked the audience to ‘applaud quietly’.

Lindsay’s book provides a comprehensive overview of Cutler’s career and insight into his creative methods. He often wrote during the night in the interstices of sleep and this might account for the direct line to his subconscious evident in his work. He’s also very strong on Cutler’s Jewish Glaswegian background and, although the private man remains ultimately enigmatic, you get the impression of a curious combination of the intensely shy and attention-seeking. This is an informative and warm portrait of a unique talent.… (meer)