Ivor Cutler - Early Life

Early Life

Cutler was born in Glasgow into a middle-class Jewish family of Eastern European descent. He cited his childhood as the source of his artistic temperament, recalling a sense of displacement when his younger brother was born: "Without that I would not have been so screwed up as I am, and therefore not as creative." In 1939 Cutler was evacuated to Annan. He joined the Royal Air Force as a navigator in 1942 but was soon dismissed for "dreaminess". He moved to London where he was employed by the Inner London Education Authority to teach music, dance, drama and poetry to 7- to 11-year-olds. Cutler's deeply held views on humanity meant he disliked corporal punishment and on leaving a teaching job he held in the 1950s he cut up his tawse and handed the pieces to the class. He was married briefly and had two children.