Where would Ivor Cutler be if he hadn't been born on this day, January 15th 1923?
Cue one of those fascinating flights of fancy that the man himself was so well known and loved for. What if he hadn't, we hadn't, they didn't, it wouldn't...?
I was introduced to Ivor Cutler by a friend at teacher training college in London. Neil had come from Aberystwyth University to do a PGCE in London and his digs had a spare room at a time when I was sofa surfing.
We hit if off, not least due to the hours spent in his room (it was much, much larger than mine) listening to his extensive record collection on his large and expensive hifi. (I had a small cassette-radio...)
And chief among the records was one by Ivor Cutler. I've been a fan ever since. The man is - was - a genius, one of those rare, genuine 'one-offs'. No-one was like him. No-one else could've been him.
My affection for him - and collection of his many records and broadcasts - grew.
Neil, however, dropped out and went back to Wales taking his record player with him. Still, I got to move into his much larger room. (The same room erstwhile Labour MP Eric Joyce had to break in to a few months later.)
I lost touch with Neil, which is a shame.
But I still remember Ivor Cutler with lots of affection...
