A MAN WITH NO MORE ROLLS
John Shuttleworth at the Civic Theatre

06.03.11

With no morals, it should have read, apparently. Too late now.

Shuttleworth – versatile singer/organist from Sheffield - burst onto the light entertainment scene way back in the 80s, propelled into the South Yorkshire limelight by his neighbour and sole agent Ken Worthington, with a little help from Graham Fellows. A quarter of a century on, and not a day older, he's brought his nearly-new touring show to the Civic, Chelmsford.

You've not seen him ? You'll not have been to the Scout Hut in Haversage or the St John Ambulance Rooms recently. You won't have been anticipating his punchlines, joining in with his catchy choruses or helping him out with the lyrics to Savoury.

Imagine if Fred Dibnah had been lured down by a contract to entertain at the Darby and Joan … Key to the humour is an obsession with minutiae and a mistrust of change. One song lamented the demise of the bar of soap, supplanted by the handwash dispenser, another the threat to Nimble and the humble roll from Peter's bread and Paganini. All to the strains of his touring Yamaha PSS keyboard: this time out he amused us by recognising, in his accompaniment, sundry seminal influences: UB40, Ultravox, New Order, and Nirvana [Smells like White Spirit].

A fascinating insight into the weird world of this unique entertainer and the people who live there with him, such as Sammy Martini, the personality vocalist with the quicksilver wit. Maybe they could tour together next time.