John Shuttleworth (character)
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John Shuttleworth is a fictional singer-songwriter and radio presenter, created in 1986 and performed by English comedy actor and musician
Graham Fellows Graham David Fellows (born 22 May 1959) is an English actor and musician, best known for releasing the 1978 single "Jilted John", which reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart, and creating the comedic character John Shuttleworth in 1986. Jilted ...
. Shuttleworth is in his late 50s and is from
Walkley Walkley is a suburb of Sheffield, England, west of Burngreave, south of Hillsborough and north-east of Crookes. The area consists mainly of Victorian stone-fronted terraced housing and has a relatively high student population. It also has a ...
in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
. He has a quiet manner and slightly nerdish tendencies. His musical talents are usually expressed through his PSS portable keyboard and include "Pigeons in Flight", a song that Shuttleworth attempted to have selected for the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
.


Character portrait

Shuttleworth is a pathetic character, essentially decent and benevolent, but with a painful lack of self-awareness. The unfortunate gap between his actual musical talent and his steadfast belief in the possibility of his eventual pop super-stardom is the main source of the character's tragi-comedy. His "next-door neighbour and sole agent", Ken Worthington is more of a hindrance than a help in John's life. The character was inspired by some demo tapes sent in to Chappell Music, where Fellows – who had previously had UK chart success as the character
Jilted John ''Jilted'' is the past tense of jilt Jilt or may refer to: * Jilț, a tributary of the river Jiu in Romania * Jilț Coal Mine, an open-pit mine in Romania * ''The Jilt'', a 1922 American drama film directed by Irving Cummings * A B-girl (archa ...
– worked as a songwriter in the 1980s, and takes some of his mannerisms from Graham's father and from mouse breeders he knew as a young man in Sheffield. A character prototypical of John Shuttleworth appeared on the single "Men of Oats And Creosote", issued under Fellows' own name in 1979. Appearing on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's '' Midweek'' programme, on 3 June 2015, Fellows suggested that Shuttleworth was an amalgamation of the "very steady types" he had served beer to in a
working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...
in Sheffield and the more eccentric characters he had met while showing fancy mice.


Supporting characters

Shuttleworth has fronted several radio and television series, usually supported by other characters, also voiced by Fellows, including agent / manager Ken Worthington ("TV's Mr. Clarinet Man"), who came last on the TV talent show '' New Faces'' in 1973, as well as John's wife Mary Shuttleworth, their two teenage children Darren and Karen, and Mary's friend Joan Chitty. Other characters included Janet Le Row (formerly Rowbotham - John came up with the idea for a name change, which has brought Janet relative success), a fellow singer-songwriter who shares John's agent; Plonker, a friend of Darren; Maxime, a friend of Karen; and Peter Cornelius, a salesman and friend of Ken who is always keen to sell his products.


Broadcasting

The Shuttleworths' various adventures have featured on several radio shows, including ''
The Shuttleworths ''The Shuttleworths'' is a British radio comedy that aired between 1993 and 2010, as five series and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features "versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield" John Shuttleworth, his family, and his neighbours, ...
'', ''Shuttleworth's Showtime'' and ''
Radio Shuttleworth Radio is the technology of signaling and telecommunication, communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device ...
'', with Fellows supplying all the voices and performing on his organ. He also made a four-part TV series supposedly filmed by Worthington, ''500 Bus Stops'' (the title being a parodying reference to
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
's ''
200 Motels ''200 Motels'' is a 1971 surrealist musical film written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer, and featuring music by Zappa. An international co-production of United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars the Mothers of Invention, T ...
''), about a UK national tour thwarted very early when his beloved Y-reg
Austin Ambassador The Austin Ambassador is a large family car that was introduced by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland in March 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, a saloon car that had lacked a hatchback. Only the ...
broke down, but then continued by public transport. The venues visited were invariably mundane and uninspiring, and situations experienced usually demoralising, but were optimistically dealt with as if they were defining moments in his career. There followed a television special, ''Europigeon'', following the success (or otherwise) of "Pigeons in Flight". In May 2008 Fellows appeared in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's ''
Comedy Map of Britain ''Comedy Map of Britain'' is a BBC Documentary film, documentary series which visits the places that have inspired many of United Kingdom, Britain's leading comedians. It first aired on BBC Two in 2007 and 2008. Narrated by veteran broadcaster Al ...
'' in which he discussed the origin of his Shuttleworth character. In February 2019, ''The Shuttleworths'' was placed at number 26 in the
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'Top 30 From Plomley To Peel' poll of BBC radio shows (Radio Times print edition, 16–22 February 2019).


Radio

* ''
The Shuttleworths ''The Shuttleworths'' is a British radio comedy that aired between 1993 and 2010, as five series and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features "versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield" John Shuttleworth, his family, and his neighbours, ...
'' (5 series, Radio 4, 1993–2010) * '' Shuttleworth's Showtime'' (1 series,
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
, 1994) * ''
Radio Shuttleworth Radio is the technology of signaling and telecommunication, communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device ...
'' (2 series, Radio 4, 1998–2000) * '' John Shuttleworth's Open Mind'' (1 series, Radio 4, 2006) * '' John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music'' (2 series, Radio 4, 2014–2016) Shuttleworth has also guested on
Mark and Lard Mark and Lard was the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), who presented various weekday shows on BBC Radio 1 from 1991 to March 2004. Career Radcliffe, then a Radio 1 producer, began presenting specialist shows on the ne ...
's ''Graveyard Shift'' on Radio 1 and on Radio 4's '' Loose Ends''.


Television series

* ''
Saturday Zoo ''Saturday Zoo'' is a British alternative comedy and chat show series, featuring an eclectic mix of stand-up acts, interviews and music. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, it ran for 13 episodes, beginning in January 1993, on Channel 4. Production The ...
'' (
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, 1993) – Shuttleworth had a regular slot on Jonathan Ross' TV series * '' 500 Bus Stops'' (
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, 1997) four-part
rockumentary A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...
* '' Europigeon'' (BBC Two, 1998) – This is a television version of the radio special ''Europigeon'', which was included in series 2 of ''
The Shuttleworths ''The Shuttleworths'' is a British radio comedy that aired between 1993 and 2010, as five series and numerous specials on BBC Radio 4. It features "versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield" John Shuttleworth, his family, and his neighbours, ...
''. Shuttleworth writes the song ''Pigeons in Flight'', which he hopes will represent the UK at the 1998
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. With advice from
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...
, Shuttleworth attempts to persuade former Norwegian 'nul pointer'
Jahn Teigen Jahn Teigen (27 September 1949 – 24 February 2020) was a Norwegian singer, musician and comedian. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1978, 1982 and 1983, His given name was Jan; he added the silent H later. F ...
to sing the song, but is disappointed by Teigen's performance. Having failed to get his song into the competition, Shuttleworth works backstage as a steward for the contest in Birmingham, where he imagines his song being performed by several former Eurovision artists:
Katrina Katrina or Katrine may refer to: People * Katrina (given name) * Katrine (given name) Meteorology * List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina ** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
of
The Waves ''The Waves'' is a 1931 novel by English novelist Virginia Woolf. It is critically regarded as her most experimental work, consisting of ambiguous and cryptic soliloquies spoken mainly by six characters; Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny an ...
, Johnny Logan, Lynsey de Paul, Clodagh Rodgers, Bruce Welch of
The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
, Cheryl Baker of
Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comp ...
and Brotherhood of Man. * '' It's Nice Up North'' (2006) * '' Southern Softies'' (2009) * ''The Shuttleworths'' (animated series, not yet broadcast) – in 2012, work started on an animated version of ''The Shuttleworths'', and a half-hour pilot film was written and performed by Fellows, animated and directed by Kevin Baldwin, and produced by Will Yapp A
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
page was set up to provide financing for the project. Fellows explained, in an interview for ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'', in March 2015: "It does make me think he ohn Shuttleworthneeds to be moved into another sphere. By that I am hinting at the animation project we are trying to get off the ground. Kevin Baldwin, who has done a lot of animation for me over the years, and I have worked on an animation of The Shuttleworths. It’s nearly finished and would be a great way to immortalise John." As of December 2015 the programme had not been picked up by a broadcaster, although test scenes and still images were available to view on-line and a short four minute animated teaser, titled "Unaccompanied Lady", was included as an extra on the DVD release of " It's Nice Up North". In late 2016 a full 22-minute long pilot episode was released through Amazon Video


''It's Nice Up North'' and ''Southern Softies''

In 2006, Fellows (as Shuttleworth) made a film with photographer
Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...
, entitled '' It's Nice Up North'', in which Shuttleworth tests his theory that British people are nicer the further north one ventures by visiting the
Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
, the most northerly part of the United Kingdom. In summer 2007 he travelled to the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
to shoot another film, ''Southern Softies''. Again featuring an appearance from Parr, Shuttleworth aims to discover whether people are softer the further south you go.


Other TV appearances

* '' The Paradise Club'' (
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
, 1989–1990) – the character appeared as an auditionee in this drama series * ''Christmas with
Vic and Bob Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense) ...
'' (
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, 1993) – Shuttleworth performed his song "The Christmas Orphan" on the channel's Christmas comedy theme night, which was hosted by
Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, surrealist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. ...
and
Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing ...
* ''Edinburgh Nights'' (BBC Two, 1995) – a spoof
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
-style examination of comedy at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
* ''
Fully Booked ''Fully Booked'', later retitled ''FBi'', is a British children's television series produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast from 22 April 1995 to 23 September 2000. Format Series 1–3 The first series is presented by Zoe Ball and Grant Stott, an ...
'' (BBC One, 1998) – Shuttleworth made a guest appearance on this Sunday morning
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
show, at the instigation of co-presenter Chris Jarvis, a long time Shuttleworth fan * ''
Sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the ...
'' (CITV, 2011) – the character appeared as Officer Shuttleworth, a policeman, in 'The Alarm System', an episode of the 2011 revival of '' The Sooty Show'' * ''
Count Arthur Strong Steve Delaney (born 1954) is an English comedian and character actor, best known for his comedy character Count Arthur Strong on BBC Radio 4 and then a television sitcom broadcast on BBC2 and BBC1. Early life and career Delaney was born in Le ...
''  – John Shuttleworth appeared as Arthur's long-lost singing partner, in series 3, Episode 5 "The Three Wishes"


Other recordings

* ''John Shuttleworth in Performance'' (1986, cassette) * ''Swimming With Sharon'' (1987, 7" and 12" single) – a song performed by John, with additional vocals by his son, Darren. * ''The Ghost of Giggleswick'' (1990, cassette) * ''Seven Songs By Sunset'' (1992, cassette) – comedy special, in which John's manager, Ken Worthington refuses to pay John unless he writes 7 new songs by the following morning. * ''Do You Ken Ken Worthington'' (1993, cassette) * ''Y Reg'' (1996, CD single) * ''Talkin (1996–1998) – A series of educational videos produced for children by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
. John Shuttleworth hosted 3 episodes ''Talkin' Roman'' (1996), ''Talkin' Saxon'' (1997) and ''Talkin' Viking'' (1998). * ''The Yamaha Years'' (1997, CD) * ''Shuttleworth Live'' (2000, CD) * ''Blue John'' (2001, CD) * ''One Foot in the Gravy (live)'' (2001, CD, VHS, DVD) * ''The Voiceprint Christmas CD'' (2001, CD) * ''The Dolby Decades'' (2008, CD) * ''The Minor Tour'' (2009, DVD)


Other media

In December 2015, Fellows recorded a
satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...
voice for
TomTom TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. ...
devices as Ken Worthington, made available as a free download. A John Shuttleworth voice was also planned.


Stage show

In April 2007 Shuttleworth started touring with a new stage show ''With My Condiments''. It was inspired by
Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...
's promotion of healthy food for school children. Fellows thought "what would happen if Shuttleworth did the same for a slightly older age group". In June, Shuttleworth's ''4 Rather Tasty Tracks'' was released as a download or CD, reaching the appropriately modest number 96 in the UK charts and number 29 in the Indie Charts in July 2007. In November 2008 Shuttleworth began his ''Minor Tour – and other Mythological Creatures'' tour. In October 2010 Shuttleworth began a five-month ''A Man With No More Rolls'' tour, claiming that it was a misprint and should have been called ''A Man With No Morals''. In Spring 2015 it was announced that Shuttleworth was to appear in a one-night concert ''John Shuttleworth & Friends'', on 28 June 2015, at the London Palladium. The concert, celebrating 30 years of the character, and in aid of
multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
charities, would include appearances by Chas & Dave, Toyah, Martyn Ware of Heaven 17, John Otway,
Leee John Leslie McGregor "Leee" John (born 23 June 1957) is a British musician, singer, and actor of St Lucian descent. He was born in Hackney, London, and educated in New York City, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School. He is perhaps b ...
of
Imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...
, Gordon Giltrap,
Jon McClure Jon McClure (born 22 December 1981), known as The Reverend, is an English musician. He is the lead singer and frontman of Reverend and The Makers, and ex-vocalist of 1984 and Judan Suki. He says that the name "Reverend" became his moniker because ...
of Reverend and The Makers and Sooty and Sweep. Shuttleworth suggested there would also be a rare appearance by
Jilted John ''Jilted'' is the past tense of jilt Jilt or may refer to: * Jilț, a tributary of the river Jiu in Romania * Jilț Coal Mine, an open-pit mine in Romania * ''The Jilt'', a 1922 American drama film directed by Irving Cummings * A B-girl (archa ...
. In Spring 2017 Shuttleworth embarked on a 53-date "farewell" tour, titled "My Last Will and Tasty Mint". In May 2022 Shuttleworth had to abandon a performance in the
Peak Cavern The Peak Cavern, also known as the Devil's Arse, is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. Peakshole Water flows through and out of the cave, which has the largest cave entrance in Britain. Overview Unlike the other ...
, Derbyshire, due to fears of rocks falling down the cliff face. An operation by the Edale Mountain Rescue ensued to reach a walker who had fallen down the side of the cavern and was clinging to a tree above a drop.


Television advertising

In 2009 Shuttleworth appeared in a UK television advertising campaign for
Yorkshire Tea Yorkshire Tea is a black tea Tea blending and additives, blend produced by the Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, Bettys & Taylors Group since 1977. It is the most popular traditional black tea brand sold in the UK. In 1886 Charles Edward Taylor F ...
.


References


External links


Official ''Shuttleworths'' site

John Shuttleworth on Myspace

It's Nice Up North on DVD

Euro Pigeon on DVD

Ken Worthington's YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuttleworth, John Male characters in radio Comedy television characters Radio characters introduced in 1986 Fictional people from Yorkshire Fictional radio personalities People from Sheffield Sheffield in fiction