Dick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

, and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, amongst a range of other

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by Sympathetic resonance, sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meani ...

s, including

tenor horn The Tenor horn (British English; Alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flu ...

and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with

the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 351, 978–9 and Rico Rodriguez. He also collaborated with bands such as Madness,

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

,Sutherland, Bryony & Ellis, Lucy (2002) ''Annie Lennox: The Biography'', Omnibus Press, , p. 143 Fun Boy Three,Buckley, Peter (2003) ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. 401

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

, Level 42 and

the Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

. In addition to a range of horns, Cuthell also plays bass, keyboards and percussion and is a composer and arranger.

Biography

Dick Cuthell was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1949.

Island records

After playing in several bands including the Washington Soul Band and Trifle in the 1960s, Cuthell worked for

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

in the 1970s as an engineer and later in-house producer. His work at Island Studios in both

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and London brought him into contact with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and ska musicians, and these became a constant theme in the music he played and produced, working with Delroy Washington amongst many others. He acted as assistant engineer on

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

's '' Exodus'' album,Goldman, Vivien (2007)
Keep on Moving
, ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', 28 May 2007, retrieved 27 January 2010 on which he also played horns,McCann, Ian & Hawke, Harry (2004) ''Complete Guide to the Music of Bob Marley'', Omnibus Press, , p. 78 and also met Rico Rodriguez, with whom he would later work in The Specials. He was also one of several engineers that worked on the dub album of Burning Spear's ''

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

'' album, '' Garvey's Ghost''.

The Specials

Cuthell became, along with Rico Rodriguez, the horn section for the Specials, playing

on their debut album, and staying with the band into their later incarnation as the Special A.K.A., playing on the hit single " Free Nelson Mandela", and the album '' In the Studio''.Walters, Barry (2005)
The Specials ''The Specials''
, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', 6 October 2005, retrieved 27 January 2010Schurmacher, Thomas (1984)
Record Roundup
, ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', 19 July 1984, retrieved 27 January 2010 He co-wrote two of the band's songs, "Bright Lights" and "Racist Friend", released together as a single in 1983, reaching No. 60 in the UK. Cuthell also recorded with another group of ex-members of the Specials, Fun Boy Three.Green, Jim & Robbins, Ira
Fun Boy Three
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', retrieved 27 January 2010

Later production and session work

Throughout the 1980s, Cuthell continued both production and session work. He contributed trumpet,

and cornet to the

' 1983 No. 1 album ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

'', and also toured as part of the band.Speelman, Paul (1984)
Guitars – and no pretences
, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 2 February 1984, retrieved 27 January 2010 He played horns on

' 1985 album '' Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash''.Merrick, Joe (2001) ''London Irish Punk Life & Music...Shane MacGowan'', Omnibus Press, , p. 70 His productions include the Boothill Foot Tappers 1985 album ''Ain't That Far from Boothill''.Robbins, Ira
Boothill Foot-Tappers
, ''

'', retrieved 27 January 2010 He also recorded with Madness, and Linton Kwesi Johnson.Linton Kwesi Johnson discography
, LKJ Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthell Dick Living people British rock trumpeters British male trumpeters British ska musicians English record producers The Specials members Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Liverpool Madness (band) members