EPISODE · Feb 28, 2025 · 26 MIN
Graham Fellows, “the comedy of the underdog” and inventing John Shuttleworth and Jilted John
from Word In Your Ear
We first saw Graham Fellows as Jilted John on Top of the Pops in 1978 and we’ve followed his characters ever since, especially drawn to the keyboard-prodding, car-coated John Shuttleworth and his deathless pop anthems ‘Pigeons In Flight’, ‘Up And Down Like A Bride’s Nightie’ and ‘I Can’t Go Back To Savoury Now’. Graham talks here about how and why he created them (and rock media studies lecturer Brian Appleton) and his new book ‘John Shuttleworth Takes The Biscuit’, along with … the allure of romantic punk rock (Patrik Fitzgerald, Buzzcocks, the Undertones), Sheffield mouse-breeders, comic melancholy, whether Northern humour is funnier than Southern, kissing Debbie Harry for a publicity shot, the advice his father gave him and the finer details of the Shuttleworth live experience. Order 'John Shuttleworth Takes The Biscuit' here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Shuttleworth-Takes-Biscuit-Selection/dp/1915841305 John Shuttleworth tour dates:https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/john-shuttleworthFind out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourearHelp us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
We first saw Graham Fellows as Jilted John on Top of the Pops in 1978 and we’ve followed his characters ever since, especially drawn to the keyboard-prodding, car-coated John Shuttleworth and his deathless pop anthems ‘Pigeons In Flight’, ‘Up And Down Like A Bride’s Nightie’ and ‘I Can’t Go Back To Savoury Now’. Graham talks here about how and why he created them (and rock media studies lecturer Brian Appleton) and his new book ‘John Shuttleworth Takes The Biscuit’, along with … the allure of romantic punk rock (Patrik Fitzgerald, Buzzcocks, the Undertones), Sheffield mouse-breeders, comic melancholy, whether Northern humour is funnier than Southern, kissing Debbie Harry for a publicity shot, the advice his father gave him and the finer details of the Shuttleworth live experience. Order 'John Shuttleworth Takes The Biscuit' here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Shuttleworth-Takes-Biscuit-Selection/dp/1915841305 John Shuttleworth tour dates:https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/john-shuttleworthFind out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourearHelp us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Graham Fellows, “the comedy of the underdog” and inventing John Shuttleworth and Jilted John
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