<span class="postbody"><font size="2">RIP the great Ivor Cutler and John Junkin two comedy greats that left the world yesterday ironically they both appeared in the beatles film a hard days night after the loss of the wonderful linda smith last week the world is a little bit colder. </font> </span>
From Guardian Unlimited <div class="entrybody"> Ivor Cutler's <font color="#006699">death</font> at the age of 83 deprives us of a truly unique talent. He was an original humorist, and humanist, with no contemporary parallel. </p> <font color="#006699">Ivor</font> and me go back a long way. My best friend Louis's dad had an ancient EP from the early 60s called Get Away From The Wall, which we played over and over again aged 10 or 11. This man's absurd tales and short songs, told in stripped-down, severe, Scottish-accented tones and accompanied by a creaky harmonium, had a profound effect on our nascent sense of humour.</p> One track, Gruts, told the tale of a child rebelling against his daily diet of "gruts", which had to be gathered from "the clearing". Eventually he had to resign himself to the fact that, given the alternative foodstuffs of bark or grass, gruts really were the best option. This hilariously bleak vision of life was expanded on Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, which we delighted in hearing in <font color="#006699">session</font> on John Peel's radio show. </p> Cutler also turned up as Buster Bloodvessel in the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour - it seemed everything we liked, Ivor was in some way connected. I even had a <font color="#006699">picture</font> of him on my wall, from the Observer Magazine's Room of My Own feature.</p> I never met him, but several of my acquaintances did. One was taught by him at Summerhill school. Another was a neighbour of his in <font color="#006699">Kentish Town</font>, north London. My aforementioned friend Louis, working in a bookshop near the University of London in the 1980s, spotted Cutler browsing in the shop. He sidled up to the counter and inquired politely if the shop had any books by Ivor Cutler. My friend answered that they hadn't, but he would certainly make sure they stocked some as he was a great admirer of Mr Cutler's work. They proceeded to have a short chat about Cutler's merits, continuing to refer to him in the third person.</p> His death wasn't entirely expected - I tried to contact him for an interview a few months ago and his agent told me he wouldn't be talking to the media any more. And anyway, he "<font color="#006699">hates websites</font>".</p></div>
