The Singing Kettle (also known as Artie's Singing Kettle) are a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

and entertainment group from Scotland who perform traditional

children's songs A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...

, along with live theatre performances. Originally from the village of

Kingskettle Kingskettle or often simply Kettle is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland. Encompassed by the Howe of Fife, the village is approximately southwest of the nearest town, Cupar, and north of Edinburgh. According to the 2011 Census for Scotlan ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, they were formed by established folk singers Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise, eventually being joined by musician Gary Coupland. In 2012, founding member Fisher retired from performing with the group, and Trezise did the same. After 6 years of presenting Tartan Tales Trezise decided to produce new Singing Kettle shows that he presents solo under the name "Artie's Singing Kettle". The group were awarded a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for best children's TV programme and Fisher, Trezise and Coupland were made MBEs for their services to the entertainment industry.

Career

Husband and wife Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise started touring as a folk singing duo in the mid-1970s. The group name "The Singing Kettle" came about in 1982. Their first venture under this title was a children's album, featuring everything from traditional Scottish rhymes to songs learned on their folk tour of the US. A group of children contributed backing vocals for certain tracks, including their daughter Jane, creating the first set of "Kettle Kids". The idea came of turning ''The Singing Kettle'' album into a show, as they were unimpressed by other, few, children's theatre shows at the time. The show toured to primary schools, with the idea of clues for songs found inside kettles, and for this they recruited their friend, musician Gary Coupland. The touring show eventually developed into a more plot-led piece of musical theatre and they began performing in large scale theatres across the country. Over the years the Singing Kettle have presented their own specially written shows including The Boogie Woogie Zoo, The Time Machine, Pirates, Wild West Show, Medieval Madness, World Tour, Funny Farm, and Homemade Band. Additionally some of their shows have raised awareness of important topics, notably

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...

(Busy Road Show), good

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's oral cavity clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and adopting good hygiene habits. It is important that oral hygiene be carr ...

(Tooth Happy Songs) and

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

(one of the Adventures in Kettleland episodes). They were joined for a time by Cilla and Artie's daughter, Jane, who left to be in the electro band Motormark, replaced by Kevin McLeod – the former company stage manager. In 2003

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

released ''The Singing Kettle:

Singalong Songs from Scotland ''The Singing Kettle: Singalong Songs From Scotland '' is a record containing 17 children’s songs. This is The Singing Kettle's first recording to be widely distributed outside the United Kingdom. The songs are performed by Cilla Fisher, Artie ...

'', the group's first recording to be widely distributed outside the United Kingdom. Alongside the being performers, Cilla sang while the rest composed the theme song to a children's cartoon series, ''

Meeow! ''Meeow!'' (Gaelic version: ''Meusaidh'') is a 2000 Scottish animated children's series based on the Maisie MacKenzie books by Aileen Paterson, and produced simultaneously in English and Gaelic versions. The series is about a young cat named M ...

'', which ran from 2000 to 2002 on Children's ITV. ''

'' was latterly shown on

wknd@stv ''wknd@stv'' was a short-lived children's programming strand on Scottish television channel, STV. The block aired on Saturdays and Sundays, usually starting at 9:25am (the first ever edition began at 9:55am). It began on Saturday 17 January 2 ...

in 2009. Aside from their several albums of traditional children's music, The Singing Kettle has also released several DVDs and made five television series with

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

and two television series with

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. They toured regularly throughout the United Kingdom, performing their highly successful stage show. They have performed command performances before both

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

's royal family. The three founding members of The Singing Kettle (Fisher, Trezise, and Coupland) have each been honoured with the MBE. There was a Singing Kettle Shop in

which sold all sorts of different merchandise, as well as being home to the company offices. The group announced in October 2012 that they were auditioning for a new permanent member. Later that month they announced that Fisher and Trezise were retiring from performing and would continue to work on writing and behind the scenes. Coupland and McLeod were joined by Anya Scott-Rodgers. In September 2014, the group announced that the 'Big Christmas Party' show would be their final tour, and that they would be breaking up in February 2015 after 32 years. The group performed their last show in Aberdeen on 15 February 2015. McLeod, Coupland and Anya continued to work together in a group called

Funbox A funbox is a standard element of a skatepark. It generally consists of a box shape with a flat top and a ramp on two or more sides. A funbox may also include other elements that allow for more complicated skateboarding tricks. The construction ...

; this came to an end in 2022. In 2018, Artie returned to touring with a show called 'Artie's Tartan Tales' performing songs from the kettle and telling stories. In 2017, he was accompanied on festival dates with musical performer Ryan Moir. The following year he announced he would be bringing back 'the kettles'. He started touring once again with his live show 'Artie's Singing Kettle Show'. He later toured with a new show called 'Artie's Singing Kettle Sing-along. In October 2019 he toured with his Halloween show called 'Artie's Singing Kettle Holloween Show. A Christmas show followed in December. In early 2020, he set up a new YouTube channel featuring videos of him singing songs from the shows and his postponed tour; along with a different coloured kettle. The videos were recorded from home in order to comply with pandemic restrictions.

Cast

Cilla Fisher

''(Songwriter/Producer/Director)'' Cilla Fisher MBE (born 26 September 1952) made her musical debut on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

at the age of 9. She started performing with Trezise in 1974. In the shows, Fisher played the character of Maw. She still occasionally sings solo in pubs and clubs for adults. Her brother,

Archie Archie or Archy is a given name, almost exclusively masculine, and a diminutive of Archibald, which is derived from the Germanic ''ercan'', meaning “ genuine”, and ''bald'', meaning “ bold.” It has been in use as an independent given nam ...

, and sister, Ray, both enjoyed success in the folk music industry when they were young. Ray died in 2011 and Archie remains a respected folk music performer. Fisher retired as a performer in the show, along with Trezise, at the end of the 'Fairytale Castle' tour in February 2013.

Artie Trezise

''(Producer/Managing Director)'' Artie Trezise MBE (born 3 April 1947) left his teaching job to tour in regional pubs and clubs as a folk singer. He started performing with Fisher in 1974. In the shows, Trezise played Willie and Jeremy. In other work, he gives talks to American tourists and Danish school teachers about The Singing Kettle's work.

Gary Coupland

Gary Coupland was the musician for the group. He joined "Cilla & Artie" for a tour of Scotland, which started The Singing Kettle. He received an MBE in 1999.

Jane Fisher

Jane Fisher (born c. 1973) is daughter to Cilla and Artie. She had worked as a backing vocalist on some of The Singing Kettle's LP's and albums before joining the group as a front in 1995. She left the band after the "Winter Wonderland Tour" in 2002 to join Motormark and is now in

FANGS A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external Chelic ...

Kevin Macleod

Kevin Macleod (born 9 March 1969) worked as The Singing Kettle's stage manager for years before joining the group. McLeod first appeared in the 2001 Christmas tour 'Winter Wonderland' and can be heard on the cassette. This was a cross-over show, that also featured Jane prior to her departure. This was the only time there were 5 members in the show at once. He later joined the group for their "Jungle Party Tour" in 2002 and was in the group until 2015. McLeod also played the characters of Bonzo, Henry and Jock during the shows.

Anya Scott-Rodgers

Anya Scott-Rodgers (born 7 October 1987) joined the group upon the retirement of Fisher and Trezise as performers in the show. Anya was auditioned from hundreds of applicants from all over the world and became the new face of the Singing Kettle.

Characters

Willie, Henry and Maw

Willie and Maw (played by Trezise and Fisher) started during the late 1980s in "cutaway" scenes from the group on their stage and TV shows. Willie and Maw were highlights of The Singing Kettle's tours until the 2002 line-up change, when Willie's "long lost brother" Henry (played by MacLeod) arrived and Maw was dropped from the show. Willie and Henry last appeared on the "Christmas Pyjama Party Tour" in the 2009/10 Christmas season show.

Bonzo

Bonzo the Dog (played by Macleod) is the "pet" of the group who first appeared in "The Homemade Band Show" as an angry next door neighbour. After the success of The Homemade Band Show and the interest in the character of Bonzo, he returned for "The Jungle Party" and went on to appear in all following shows. Bonzo has become a favourite with The Singing Kettle's fans. He was made into a toy and it was a bestseller in the group's merchandise. A collection of Bonzo's appearances on the tours, along with special recordings was released on DVD in 2005. The character of Bonzo continued to appear in Coupland, McLeod and Anya's show,

Jock and Jeremy

Jock and Jeremy (also played by Trezise and MacLeod) replaced Willie and Henry for the "Boogie Woogie Zoo" tour (and onwards) as two chefs. Following Trezise's retirement as a performer, Macleod continued to play Jock until the final tour in 2015.

TV series

The television series was commissioned by

after visiting the group performing in Dunfermline in 1988. When Liz Scott, the director of the series showed

Anna Home Anna Margaret Home ( ; born 13 January 1938) is an English television producer and executive who worked for most of her career at the BBC. Early career After graduating from Oxford University, where she read Modern History at St Anne's Colle ...

, BBC Head of Children's programmes, she did not believe it would transfer well to other parts of the UK. She thought it was "too couthie and very Scottish". BBC produced five series of ''The Singing Kettle'' between 1989 and 1993, which featured the original band members, Fisher, Trezise and Coupland. These series were later repeated on the

BBC Schools BBC Schools, also known as BBC for Schools and Colleges or BBC Education, was the educational programming strand set up by the BBC in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From its launch until June 1983 ...

programming thread from 1994 to 1996. In 1995, the group starred in ''

The Singing Kettle News ''The Singing Kettle News'' is a BAFTA award-winning children's series that run on CITV. The show starred The Singing Kettle, a children's group who are well known for performing traditional children's songs with a distinctly Scottish flair. ...

'' for ITV's Scottish Television channel which was followed by '' The Singing Kettle Show'' in 2000. These two series also featured Jane, in addition to the original three members. In 2016, the series began airing on

STV Glasgow STV Glasgow is a British local television station serving Glasgow and surrounding areas. The station was owned and operated by STV Group plc in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University. The channel was closed on Sunday 23 April 2017 an ...

and

STV Edinburgh STV Edinburgh was a British local television channel based in Edinburgh which launched on 12 January 2015. It was owned and operated by STV Group plc in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University. The channel was closed on Sunday 23 April 20 ...

as part of their 'Wean's World' children's programming strand.

"Spout, handle, lid of metal..."

''"Spout, handle, lid of metal, What's inside the Singing Kettle?"'' was created by Fisher just before the BBC came to visit the group perform in Dunfermline in 1988, as they believed they needed something for the BBC. The rhyme has been used in the majority of songs selected onto the playlist. One exception was in the 1991 Christmas Cracker Show for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, where song clues were in giant crackers (with a kettle shaped card attached bearing a riddle with clues to what is inside) and this sentence was chanted by Fisher and Trezise over the Singing Kettle rhyme's backing music (where the children join in is denoted in bold): "''Well, there's only one way for us to find out, so as loud as you can... ue prompt to audience.. crack the cracker!''" However the original rhyme was used in part three of backstage commentary where Trezise, Fisher and Coupland were retrieving their Christmas presents from Father Christmas, which were placed inside a kettle. Another exception was in the mid-1990s 'Singing Kettle News' shows for

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation si ...

where the rhyme was used at the end shortly before the closing credits in each episode, to retrieve the newspapers that had been put together that episode (which were put in a kettle when they'd been published).

Discography

A small selection. In total 39 CD have been released including 3 greatest hits albums. * 1979 - Cilla and Artie Topic * 1982 - The Singing Kettle * 1985 - The Singing Kettle 2 * 1987 - The Singing Kettle 3 * 1989 - The Singing Kettle 4

Videos

* 1990 - The Singing Kettle (BBC Video) * 1991 - The Singing Kettle 2 (BBC Video) * 1992 - The Singing Kettle 3 (BBC Video) * 1992 - The Singing Kettle Christmas Crackers (BBC Video) * 1993 - Adventures in Kettle Land (BBC Video) * 1994 - Very Best of the Singing Kettle (BBC Video) * 1994 - World Tour (PolyGram Video) * 1995 - Pirates (PolyGram Video) * 1996 - Christmas Party (PolyGram Video) * 1997 - The Singing Kettle News: Daly News * 1997 - The Busy Roadshow * The Singing Kettle News: Sing All About It * The Best of the Singing Kettle News * 1998 - Best Loved Singalong Songs * Get up and Go * Tooth Happy Songs * 2001 - Silly Circus * 2002 - Homemade Band Show * 2003 - Toytown * Merry Christmas Show * Jungle Party * 2003 - Medieval Madness * 2004 - Deep Sea Adventures In 2009 ''Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk'' sung by Fisher from ''Cilla and Artie'' was included in Topic Records 70-year anniversary boxed set ''

Three Score and Ten ''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label. The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a pa ...

'' as track six on the fourth CD.

DVDs

* Christmas Party * Silly Circus * Homemade Band * Jungle Party * Toytown * Blast Off * Wild West Show * Deep Sea Adventures * Pirate Island * Old Mcdonald's Farm * Medieval Madness * Funny Farm Show * Calamity Castle * Rumble in the Jungle * Fantastic Funfair * 2 DVD Collection: Silly Circus/Homemade Band * 2 DVD Collection: ToyTown/Jungle Party * 4 DVD Box Set Collection * Bonzo: Singalong Adventures * The Singing Kettle LIVE

Live shows

References

External links

The Singing Kettle's official web site''The Singing Kettle''
on

STV Player STV Player is a video on demand service owned by STV Group and available free-of-charge across the UK, online, on mobile and on all major TV platforms, including Sky Glass, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Freeview Play, Frees ...

An article about the group at folkmusic.netSmithsonian Folkways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singing Kettle, The 1974 establishments in Scotland 2015 disestablishments in Scotland 1989 Scottish television series debuts 1993 Scottish television series endings 1980s Scottish television series 1980s British children's television series 1990s British children's television series 1980s British music television series 1990s British music television series BAFTA winners (television series) BBC children's television shows BBC Scotland television shows Scottish children's entertainment British children's musical groups British children's musical television series British English-language television shows Musical groups established in 1974 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Scottish folk music groups