After years of being a fan I finally got to see the legendary John Shuttleworth last night at the lovely little venue that is the Drill Hall in Lincoln. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr Shuttleworth or indeed the Shuttleworth family, they are the creation of actor/singer/comedian Graham Fellows who had a one hit wonder punk hit back in 1978 with 'Jilted John'.
The character John Shuttleworth first caught my eye back in the late 90s with his mini series 500 Bus Stops in which unemployed John from Sheffield and his manager and sole agent (who you never see) Ken Worthington embark on a 'Rock Tour of the UK'. The tour never really gets off the ground as Johns Austin Ambassador Y Reg soon breaks down forcing Ken to make a decision to carry on the tour by public transport bus. The duo then continue to have minor adventures locally in Yorkshire and Derbyshire etc in which John gets chance to showcase his dubious keyboard skills on his Yamaha portable organ.
Anyway, back to last nights Shuttleworth gig. To be truthful it was well worth the wait to see him, despite being sat behind a rather rotund lady with a large permed haircut. As soon as John Shuttleworth comes on stage you feel like you already have a personal rapport with him, he's very much the bloke next door with lots of deadpan and at times very subtle clever comedy. The crowd loved it and there really seemed to be a warm glow to the place.
John Shuttleworth stands on stage with only his Yamaha decorated with a bit of tinsel as props, thats it, but his personality and good humour make for everything else. He muses on types of bread, the fact that you can see yourself approaching silver kitchen pedal bins and confronts the dilemma is one cup of tea enough or is two literally too many? Johns beauty is that he talks about everyday stuff and reflects on past adventures and his relationship with eccentric manager Ken Worthington (also voiced by Fellows). He recalls the time when he thought Ken had booked him to play with Billy Joel only to find out it was in fact a village hall, of course both said fast they sound quite similar and this had the crowd in hysterics. My home town of Newark gets a mention as John points out the Brough rest stop on the A46 isn't really a very good rest stop at all, though it does have two green wheely bins. Mr Shuttleworth's local knowledge does indeed seem endless at times as does his savvy with past chart bands that have since died a death.
Interlaced with his unique style of observational humour is the songs for which he is known and loved for and we are graced with such classics as 'Can't go back to savoury now', 'Eggs & Gammon' and 'Austin ambassador Y Reg' which has the enthusiastic crowd punching the air with glee.
There's also a brief song about the above mention 'Brough rest area' to my own delight.
I left the gig feeling fulfilled at seeing the living legend at last, both my friend and I enjoyed it immensely and thought it was £15 well spent and we both purchased some iconic Shuttleworth merchandise to boot. John Shuttleworths tour ends in Orkney of all places which just goes to show how far he is willing to travel and how widespread his fanbase is. Mr Shuttleworth come back soon, or even better come to my home town of Newark but be sure to take a rest at the Brough rest area on the way!
For the Shuttleworth's website click here.
And here is John Shuttleworth in his recent Yorkshire Tea advert.
The character John Shuttleworth first caught my eye back in the late 90s with his mini series 500 Bus Stops in which unemployed John from Sheffield and his manager and sole agent (who you never see) Ken Worthington embark on a 'Rock Tour of the UK'. The tour never really gets off the ground as Johns Austin Ambassador Y Reg soon breaks down forcing Ken to make a decision to carry on the tour by public transport bus. The duo then continue to have minor adventures locally in Yorkshire and Derbyshire etc in which John gets chance to showcase his dubious keyboard skills on his Yamaha portable organ.
Anyway, back to last nights Shuttleworth gig. To be truthful it was well worth the wait to see him, despite being sat behind a rather rotund lady with a large permed haircut. As soon as John Shuttleworth comes on stage you feel like you already have a personal rapport with him, he's very much the bloke next door with lots of deadpan and at times very subtle clever comedy. The crowd loved it and there really seemed to be a warm glow to the place.
John Shuttleworth stands on stage with only his Yamaha decorated with a bit of tinsel as props, thats it, but his personality and good humour make for everything else. He muses on types of bread, the fact that you can see yourself approaching silver kitchen pedal bins and confronts the dilemma is one cup of tea enough or is two literally too many? Johns beauty is that he talks about everyday stuff and reflects on past adventures and his relationship with eccentric manager Ken Worthington (also voiced by Fellows). He recalls the time when he thought Ken had booked him to play with Billy Joel only to find out it was in fact a village hall, of course both said fast they sound quite similar and this had the crowd in hysterics. My home town of Newark gets a mention as John points out the Brough rest stop on the A46 isn't really a very good rest stop at all, though it does have two green wheely bins. Mr Shuttleworth's local knowledge does indeed seem endless at times as does his savvy with past chart bands that have since died a death.
Interlaced with his unique style of observational humour is the songs for which he is known and loved for and we are graced with such classics as 'Can't go back to savoury now', 'Eggs & Gammon' and 'Austin ambassador Y Reg' which has the enthusiastic crowd punching the air with glee.
There's also a brief song about the above mention 'Brough rest area' to my own delight.
I left the gig feeling fulfilled at seeing the living legend at last, both my friend and I enjoyed it immensely and thought it was £15 well spent and we both purchased some iconic Shuttleworth merchandise to boot. John Shuttleworths tour ends in Orkney of all places which just goes to show how far he is willing to travel and how widespread his fanbase is. Mr Shuttleworth come back soon, or even better come to my home town of Newark but be sure to take a rest at the Brough rest area on the way!
For the Shuttleworth's website click here.
And here is John Shuttleworth in his recent Yorkshire Tea advert.
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