Appearing in Glasgow as part of the International Comedy Festival, John Shuttleworth's one-man show is a mix of music and rambling storytelling.
There is no bad language, nothing remotely cutting-edge and the show is peppered with reminiscences of the days when Starbursts were called Opal Fruits, when Kit-Kats were still wrapped in silver foil, and Pebble Mill was on TV.
With just a keyboard, a bottle of water and a banana – needed after a particularly draining rendition of a Reggae-style tribute to Vince Hill – Shuttleworth opens with Smells Like White Spirit, a reminder to clean brushes after decorating. His bewilderment at another group having mistaken white spirit for teen spirit is the essence of his genius. As the audience squirms at his witlessness, the only thing do is laugh.
Shuttleworth's cast of characters includes his neighbour and agent Ken, his wife Mary and the musicians he mentions in an entirely throwaway style, but in a few chords conjures up perfectly: REO Speedwagon, Toto, New Order, Kate Bush and Howard Jones are all there.
In his crumpled leather jacket, red poloneck and beige slacks, Shuttleworth is a magnet for bad luck and misunderstanding. Could he really have mistaken positive feedback after an eBay transaction for an invitation to visit the vendor for the weekend? But his appearance belies an unparalleled ability to play with words and the gift of seeing the world differently.
Favourites like Serial Cereal Eater, Pigeons In Flight and I Can't Go Back To Savoury Now had the audience singing along and raising imaginary lighters in the air. By buying into the myth you buy into an evening of excruciating fun.
HHHH
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article