Fictitious Brits

Sir Henry is a fictional character created by Bonzo Dog Band founder Vivian Stanshall (1943-1995). Stanshall was an British musician, painter, singer, broadcaster, songwriter, poet, writer, wit, and raconteur, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in "Sir Henry at Rawlinson End" and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. The Sir Henry bit originated from Stanshall's recordings for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio One in the mid 1970s. The story was later used as the basis for a 1980 film starring Trevor Howard, SIR HENRY AT RAWLINSON END.

Several of Vivian's recordings as Sir Henry, as well as the entire MEN OPENING UMBRELLAS AHEAD LP are shared by John Shuttleworth in a section of his site aptly titled Sir Henry.

Now, let us speak of John Shuttleworth himself. Just like Sir Henry, Shuttleworth is the name of a fictional character. This one was created by another British comic actor and musician, Graham Fellows (who was also Jilted John).

"In the 1980s Fellows created John Shuttleworth, an aspiring singer/songwriter in his late 50s from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with a quiet manner and slightly nerdish tendencies. His musical talents are usually expressed through his Yamaha PSS portable keyboard, and include such greats as Pigeons in Flight - a song which Shuttleworth attempted to have selected for the Eurovision Song Contest.

"Fellows has also created many supporting characters, including John's wife Mary Shuttleworth, and next-door neighbour and incompetent manager Ken Worthington, who famously came last on the TV talent show New Faces in 1973. Their various adventures have [been] featured on several radio shows, including The Shuttleworths, Shuttleworth's Showtime and Radio Shuttleworth, with Fellows supplying all the voices and performing on his organ." -- Wikipedia

Enjoy the Shuttleworth Family's audio at Shuttleworths.co.uk.


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