The Ages Of Shuttleworth

I first saw John Shuttleworth around 1988 at the King's Head in Crouch End. The singer and many of the people in the crowd - including a young Reeves and Mortimer - were dressed as Seventies dads.There were flared trousers and sideburns, synthetic materials and an excess of beige, tan and burgundy.

John was all innocent delight, tapping the automatic settings of his Yamaha keyboard and musing about his chances of writing a Eurovision hit. We heard 'Pigeons In Flight, 'Up And Down Like A Bride's Nightie' and several other classics. It was hard to tell where the irony ended and the actual joy began, but maybe that was unimportant. Shortly after the gig, the creator of John appeared without the make-up. It was a fresh-faced Graham Fellowes, who had previously invented the punk rock loser, Jilted John.

It's the Black Box, Belfast, almost 20 years on and John Shuttleworth may require less time in make-up now. Graham and John are approaching a similar age (assuming that the latter has not grown older) and the observations about middle age are more poignant now. Likewise with the mostly male audience, who are also in that zone. Some of them may even own sheds, or at least covet after one. And they probably all understand the little fussy ceremonies that men do when they're trying to have control over a life that's forever evading them. It's a short hop from 'Two Margarines On The Go' to Thoreau's famous line that men lead lives of quiet desperation. Tonight, we felt that chill realisation. And we laughed, uproariously.