"The big bloke in the khaki suit speaks quietly these days. We are nestled in the corner of Ted Milton's studio above a rehearsal space in Deptford, London, cocooned by record boxes, poetry books, plus a single big, bright suitcase, and I have to nudge the recorder closer to pick up his voice. Milton a saxophonist, poet, countercultural survivor and one-time avant garde puppeteer is 82, and uses a couple of sticks to get around, yet he is once again going on the road across Europe with his long-running band Blurt, as well as releasing a new album with his duo the Odes. Today, he is making record covers destined for the tour merch table with the help of his old woodblock setup."
"At many gamechanging moments in British postwar culture, Milton was skulking in the background somewhere, with mischief not far away. He recalls sharing taxis with William S Burroughs when the Beat godfather came to London in the early 1960s; he was described as a visionary by old drinking buddy Eric Clapton; his puppet show crashed its way into the Monty Python universe by being featured in Terry Gilliam's 1977 film Jabberwocky; a legendary lost promotional film for Pink Floyd's 1967 song Scream Thy Last Scream is rumoured to feature Milton's overcoat in a leading role via the wonder of animatronics."
Ted Milton is an 82-year-old saxophonist, poet, countercultural survivor and one-time avant-garde puppeteer who continues to tour across Europe with his long-running band Blurt and release new music with his duo the Odes. He works from a studio above a rehearsal space in Deptford, London, surrounded by records, books and a notable bright suitcase, and he still produces physical tour merchandise using an old woodblock setup. He uses sticks to get around but retains strong lungs and a boisterous laugh. His career touched figures such as William S Burroughs, Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam and connections to Pink Floyd lore, placing him at recurring points in British postwar culture.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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