Audio Hoaxes and Urban Legends, Part 2: The Shuttleworth Family (MP3s)

Meet the Shuttleworths - John, Mary, Darren and Karen. Armed only with a casio keyboard, Karen's atonal recorder solos and four-part harmonies, they're Sheffield, England's version of the Cowsills.

Too bad they never existed.

Here are the contents of a Shuttleworth Family demo tape that made the rounds of the cassette underground in the mid-1990's before being roundly dismissed as a hoax. And like so many good hoaxes (and especially the Linda McCartney Hey Jude tape, I wanted to believe it so bad that it was hard to accept that it wasn't real. When I first got a copy of the tape, the late great Vanilla Bean told me that the tape had been submitted to a British record label as a genuine demo tape. Upon playing it on the air though, listeners started reporting to the Bean and I that the tape was a fake.

It turns out that the demo tape was merely the first incarnation of John Shuttleworth, a creation of British comic Graham Fellows. BBC Radio 4 actually did a four-part radio series in 2004 called The Shuttleworths, which can be downloaded via Graham Fellow's wikipedia page. Fellows also has created a John Shuttleworth homepage here. (Fellows also recorded the punk-novelty hit Jilted John: [streaming realaudio link from Mosurock's 6/3/2002 show.]

Pictured above: John Shuttleworth, as I imagined him. Below, the contents of the mid-90's tape. The Shuttleworths were so much more fun when I thought it was real. But the voice of Mary Shuttleworth really should have tipped me off - she sounds like the female voices of Monty Python's Terry Jones. But I wanted to believe. Which is the mark of a good hoax.

All MP3s:

My Wife Died In 1970   |   The Shuttleworths   |   Catch The Fox

I'm Swimming With Sharon   |   Incident On The Snake Pass

I'm A Modern Man   |   British Family   |   Abba Medley

Demo Tape Introduction

Here is Part One and Part One & 1/2 of this series.

Comments

[blatherskite]

John Shuttleworth has had several series over the years on BBC radio.

He's actually got a show in progress as we speak: John Shuttleworth's Open Mind -- where the BBC pays him to investigate paranormal things like UFOS, fairies, and the Bermuda Triangle.

The current episode is here:

It's episode five of this series. Since BBC series are usually 6 episodes, I figure the one that replaces this on this Thursday will be the last of the batch.

Anyone who has done Jilted John (Gordon is a moron!) and John Shuttleworth deserves great praise. So, all praise Graham Fellows!

[Baz]

Shuttleworth was also given a short 4 part TV series in the mid 90s called "500 Bus Stops" that was an amuisng and low budget change from the usual crap we get on TV here in the UK.

Fellowes regularly tours the UK as Shuttleworth and supports himself, appearing as another character Brian Appleton who gives bizarre and amusing lectures on rock history.

Onew of the UKs true hidden treasures is Graham Fellowes. He lives in Louth, 16 miles from where I used to live and other Louth residents include Barbara Dickson and Robert Wyatt!

[Krys O.]

No one can deny the power of "Seven Songs By Sunset" with the classic tunes 'Pigeons In Flight' or 'Up And Down Like A Bride's Nightie.'

[crackblind]

I actually saw John Shuttleworth in London in 1988 opening for Jonathan Richman. He was awful (& not that good awful) but it seemed that some of the rest of the crowd was into him & now I finally know why.

The funny thing about this is "Catch the Fox" became a code for me & my friend about seeing something bad that we still use.

[joisymikes]

Ken,

I felt the same way, after learning the truth behind the Francis E. Dec recordings. How I wished it was the voice of the real man.

mIKES

[Paul]

I saw John Shuttleworth at the student union Bradford Uni in about 1990 and we absolutely loved him 'punch the sky, yeh!".... and we did. I must admit to having a few beers beforehand although he was already an icon with us. .. a Northern star you might say. We used to play him in our studio during the day (design students) and even the tutors loved him. There's nothing quite like walking in first thing on a morning to the melodic tones of "Eggs and gammon, poor Rhianon, she broke wind"

Ken, Johns crap booking agent, even joined him on stage for the finale all be it by telephone only.... " Ken? What do you want... I'm live on stage singing for the ladies an gentlemen". "What?" "You've been tut thAsda for a campuccino and a boubon" "That's all well and good Ken but....." "What do you mean don't get shirty" "I'm in the middle of the Abba medley, yes on the new organ, you know, the erm Casio" Are you there Ken" "He's rung off?"

Absolute classic... brings back some great memories, and you'll be surprised how wide the influence has been - Vic Reeves and Wallace (of Gromit fame) have both borrowed from our John.

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