John Cutliffe is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musician from

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in Cou ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

. He was born on February 8, 1962. He is known as a musician, songwriter, and producer. He has worked in London, Nashville, and Ireland.

Early life

John Cutliffe was born on February 8, 1962, in Buncrana, Co. Dongeal, Ireland, to parents Kevin Cutliffe and Ailish Cutliffe. He attended

Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana is a co-educational voluntary Catholic secondary school, located in Buncrana in County Donegal, Ireland. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1933 and continues to have a Catholic ethos under the trusteeship of ...

, a secondary school in his home town. His passion was always music and he was still in school when he played in his first bands including Shandrum with his cousin Paul Rodden, who would go on to be John's music collaborator for many decades.

In Bands

John has played Irish traditional and bluegrass music in the many pubs that dot the Irish countryside and has played with many pop and rock bands over the years. In

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, his Irish bluegrass band The Pyros teamed up with

Frank Tovey Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde music, avant-garde Electronic music, electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both New wave music, new wav ...

(aka Fad Gadget) and recorded albums on

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

. Cutliffe helped formed The Pyros in his home town of Buncrana. The group developed a following in the North West of Ireland. Various lineups included Kevin Doherty (Four Men and a Dog) and Ciaran Tourish (Altan). During this time, John played with well-known musicians, including Altan, Gerry O Connor, Ted Hawkins, and former

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

guitarist

Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, The Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He also perfo ...

. Cutliffe is the owner and editor of JigTime, a website that chronicled Irish and American roots music. He was the Tour Manager and general U.S. "man on the ground" for Irish traditional band Altan. He is a keen photographer and his pictures can be seen on websites including

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

's site and the MerleFest site and on album covers both in Ireland and Nashville. In 2005, Cutliffe teamed up with

Andrea Zonn Andrea Elizabeth Zonn (born 1969) is a singer and fiddle player who grew up in Urbana, Illinois. She grew up in an environment surrounded by music. She sings, and plays classical violin, and is fluent in numerous other musical genres. Zonn first ...

to produce the Hands Across The Water CD, a 16-track collaboration album between Celtic and American artists for children who were orphaned in the South East Asian tsunami. The 16-track album has over 100 musicians recorded in 30 different studios all over the world. Artists on the album include

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

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, and several more household names collaborating on new and remixed songs. The album was released on

Compass Records Compass Records is an independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk music, folk, bluegrass music, bluegrass, Celtic music, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music. In 2006, Compass purchased t ...

in Nashville.

Shyma Smiled For Me

In October 2014, John and fellow Dongegal musician,

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

, teamed up to work on "Shyma Smiled For Me". The song was released on December 5, 2014, with all proceeds going to children's charities in Gaza. The charity proceeds and dedication was prompted by the producer and co-writer visiting injured patients from the Gaza war in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

hospitals. The song was written by John and Rory and featured many well known Irish and UK artists as well as a choir of children from Jerusalem and his son, Kevin. In addition to Cutliffe himself, the lineup included

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography ...

, Liam O Maonlai
Donogh HennessyHonor HeffernanMartin Tourish
Wee Glee Singers
Jerusalem Children’s Choir
Brian Mullan, Laurence Doherty
Clare Lindley
Claire McDaid, and Sophia Brock, as well as Kevin and Caroline Cutliffe. The song made a brief appearance in the Irish download charts in 2015. John continues to write and produce and also writes for various websites and publications.

Bands

* The Pyros, AKA The Pyrotechnicos - bass, guitars * Pluto - bass * Fiveskin - bass * Shandrum - guitar * Frank Tovey and the Pyros- bass, guitar * The Other Brothers - bass, guitar * Beware of the Dog - guitar * The Barry McGuigan Band - bass guitar * The Whiskey Priests - bass * The Bordercollies - bass, guitar * No River City - bass

Discography

Grand Union A grand union is a rail track junction where two double-track railway or tramway lines cross at grade, often in a street intersection or crossroads. A total of sixteen railroad switches (sets of points) allow streetcars (or in rarer installati ...

with Frank Tovey and the Pyros (musician, bass and guitars) (1991) * Worried Men In Second Hand Suits with Frank Tovey and the Pyros (musician, bass and guitars) (1992) * Travelling Home - Rory Mcleod (Musician, bass) (1991) * Beware of the Dog - Beware of the Dog (musician, guitar, vocals, songwriter) * Barr Trá - Mary Custy and Quentin Cooper (inside cover photograph) * New Kid in Town - Ryan Holladay (cover photography) * Hands Across The Water (2005) (Producer, photography) * Down the Line - Ciaran Tourish (cover photography, liner notes) * Shyma Smiled for Me (2015) (Producer, songwriter, arranger) * Five (2016) (Producer, composer

References

External links

The Pyros website on JigTime

Fad Gadget official website

Altan official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutliffe, John Irish male guitarists Living people 1962 births Musicians from County Donegal 20th-century Irish guitarists 21st-century Irish composers People from Buncrana 20th-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish guitarists